talking to professors

[byeh2004]

Tomorrow I am meeting with a professor to start on my first research experience in undergrad and I am very nervous. I can work up a nice professional and polite attitude but when it comes to talking about myself and being a little more personal thats where I just start freaking out. I really want this professor to get to know me really well personally as well as regarding me as a respectful person but it seems that I can only do the latter because of my nervousness of opening up to professors. Does anyone have tips i can use tomorrow, thanks so much!

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[byeh2004]

bumping (1st and last time) gah i have to meet with him at 11am tomorrow please help, thanks

 

[wends]

just be personable and show interest in the research that he is doing....no one wants to work with a lazy person or someone who has no social skills....talk him up, did you take any of his classes? ask about the current projects he's working on. thats waht i did and my prof offered me a masters position on the spot, but thank god i got into med school

 

[byeh2004]

thanks!

sometimes though when i talk to a prof i feel like im being way to interested in what he's saying to the point where i think he feels that I am just kissing some ass, but then again i can be wrong.... am I just too paranoid?

 

[Smitty3L]

Okay this may sound obvious, but just be yourself. Professors are just people. I formed a great relationship with one of my professors with absolutely no intention of doing so. I was in his office helping another student with his course and we have actually become friends and he follows my progress in applying to medical school closely. There's no reason to be nervous.

 

[wends]

well, there's a difference between wanting to know whats going on with his research and kssing ass....

for example...showing interest = asking him how he did a procedure or why he did a certain project or what was the result of the last experiment

kissing ass = damn! you are soooooo cool! can i have your autograph?

 

[ladyybugg]

Just make sure you are curious about the research. Ask as many questions as you can fit into the conversation. The Prof is more interested in himself than in you.

 

[byeh2004]

what are some intelligent questions i could ask him? I have a tendency of asking "what is (biology term name)" questions and i know prof will definitely get pissed off at those

 

[coral]

Just relax and be yourself. Of course first impressions are important and a little nerve wracking but I would say the first meeting is probably going to be spent in explaining a lot of things and seeing where your knowledge matches up with the topic, etc. and so that gives you a chance to ask a lot of questions and maybe bring in some outside related knowledge ( I dunno if you took a course with the prof or not ), but like mentioned above, it is really important to show interest--otherwise that is not very exciting or encouraging to the prof.

As you start to spend time with them you will probably get an idea of how to work in personal information, depending on how they are--some people are really personable, asking about your family, where you are from etc. right off the bat, whereas I've met people in research that are not so interested in getting to know you, but rather getting work done. So, don't stress, see if you like the experience first, then worry about working in who you are gradually. good luck tomorrow

 

[MoosePilot]

what are some intelligent questions i could ask him? I have a tendency of asking "what is (biology term name)" questions and i know prof will definitely get pissed off at those

Relax. Go slow. Really just be yourself. Your whole reputation won't be made tomorrow (this morning, whatever). If anything, be a little restrained. Be polite, professional, interested, and count on having some time for him to get to know you.

 

[coral]

Well, I dunno if you want to put yourself up to this, but I found it really useful just in case I didn't fully understand the basis of something to ask if they had any reading for me (usually journal articles or papers for submission) so I could be up to date with what they were doing, and helps avoid obvious questions

 

[tank you]

the first meeting is not really a time to socialize and ask about each other. most likely, the professor will talk about the lab and the research they are doing and what you will be doing there.