With classes starting up, there is one thing I know most large-university students are dreading-- big lecture halls.
It is also hard to make yourself stand out in a class of 500. While this may seem advantageous when it comes to skipping class or dozing off, it won't help you when you are a couple points away from a letter grade you want and you are hoping they will round up.
If going to office hours or introducing yourself after class isn't your thing, your body language during lecture can be your ticket into your professor's good graces.
1. Sit up and lean in
Imagine preparing 3 hour long presentations a week just to give them to a crowd of people half asleep 20-something-year-olds. Communicate to your professor that you are awake and alert by sitting up. Leaning in will show them that you are engaged in what they are saying.
In a room full of students slouching in their seats you are sure to catch the professors eye.
2. Make eye contact
If your professor has ever taken any sort of public speaking class, they probably scan the room making eye contact with different people during the lecture.
Be the person that meets that eye contact! It not only increases your message that you are engaged in their lesson, but eye contact builds trust.
I can't find any downside to your professor perceiving you as a trustworthy won't I doubt you will either.
3. Smile
People don't say smiling is contagious for nothing!
If you can get your professor to smile, then you can improve their mood! Just the act of smiling can make you have more positive feelings. If you think about it, having your professor associate a surge of positive feelings with you in that class, you have a good shot of building a good relationship with them.
4. Nod your head
Nodding your head along with your professor demonstrates that you understand what they are saying. This comprehension is reassuring to whomever is presenting and validates the ways they are choosing to present and explain material.
Showing that you're engaged and processing is always a plus in lecture.
5. Put your phone away
You cannot do any of these things effectively if you are on your phone. It is disrespectful to sit ina class and ignore all the hard work that professors do to help you learn.
Put the phone away and engage.
