Which teachers do you remember from school? I finished school in mid 1980’s. Most teachers are forgotten – as is what they taught me. Yet some stand out from the crowd.

As marketers we can learn from them!

What makes one subject and teacher be lost in the clutter of school life and another be recalled years later. Some teachers embed themselves in your memory because of a negative experience. As marketers that’s not what we want. As I look back one substitute teacher we had was simply a bully. He ruled by fear and intimidation. His famous line was ‘When I say jump you say how high”.

Yet there are two teachers who stand out for me in primary and high school. I believe the secret ingredient of good teachers, like good marketing, is passion. These two also believed in me. Their specific encouragement and feedback was more spoken and implied than indicated in school reports.

Many years later I spoke at the funeral of my favourite high school teacher. The subject he taught – Industrial Technology – is not one I have used since. Yet his passion for his subject was clear. However it was his personal interest which engaged us. He positioned his subject as relevant to life. Many of us considered careers in architecture as a result of his enthusiasm. In his class we were not simply doing assignments and projects – we were developing skills for our careers.

I recently had an apprentice hair dresser cut my hair. I deliberately choose her to give her more experience. Believing everyone has a story I was keen to hear hers.

We ended up talking about schools. She was glad to have left school early and enter her apprenticeship. Here was a young woman with vision and passion. She loved what she was doing – even though it was hard work, sometimes boring during lull times and low pay. She saw years down the track when it would be worth it.

She attended the same school my kids now go to. We talked about teachers. One clearly stood out for her. I asked why. It was his jokes. By engaging in humour he had made his subject more interesting. He had presented himself as a human, being rather than just someone inputting information into a student’s head. Interestingly, like my experience, the subject didn’t have a lot to do with what she was now doing for work.

So think about your old school teachers. You can learn more from them than their subject. You will realise that impressions can last a long time. In marketing may you always be creating positive impressions which will last a lifetime.