Here are a few tips that I learned through 1500hrs of instructing:
1) Shut your yap!
If you need to be constantly talking in the airplane, you didn't brief properly. If you need to explain every little detail and every big picture on the ground, you're not giving enough homework. If you're the one talking through the whole debriefing, you're not facilitating participation. If you're simply yelling, find another job.
2) Learning takes place in the classroom, not the airplane.
Meaning, don't kick the tyres and light the fires without a clear aim and objective for the flight. If you have to do active teaching in the airplane, rather than sit and watch and come with pointers and tips when required, you're not doing enough ground.
3) The book is always right.
And you are not. If the books (POH, jepps etc) says it's one way, than that is the way to go. Students need to be able to relate to the bookwork that we preach, but don't always practice. And even if you do know other ways, better ways, your ways... they aren't always called for.
4) You are not paid to become friends with the student.
Now there's nothing wrong with becoming friends, and you should of course be friend-ly. But you need to set the standards, you need to put your foot down when it is called for. By all means be socially clever, but you need to be professional.
I found flight instructing very rewarding -- to some exent flyingwise, more so when it came to descision making, but immensely when it came to dealing with people. Good luck
