I try to always think about what is relevant to the student. A certain amount of theory is fine, but it has to have application at some level. The instructor needs to be able to demonstrate this to the student.

I like to take a few minutes at the beginning of a class, particularly the first day of a class, and get some personal informtaion out of each student. I'd especially like to know why they are in the class and what the expect to get out of it.

I like to bring variety into the classroom. All lecture can be deadly, so I like to vary the content with real world examples and problem based learning.

Students need to see that you have relevance as an instructor. I think this can be best accomplished by brining your own real world experiences in the class. Asking them for their own examples is good tool as well.