A quote that offers advice to instructors goes as following: 

I take my students seriously.

I take my classes seriously.

I take my content seriously.

I take my preparation seriously.

But, most importantly I make sure not to take myself seriously.

We need to think about this quote as we approach our instructional preparation and delivery.  As professionals we need to make sure we are current with our content and well prepared with our delivery.  After that we need to think about how we are approaching our students with the "human factor".  We may be the first person in the students' career field that they have met and spent any extended time with.  We need to project what a professional in the field is like but also project the fact that we can laugh, chat and discuss life events and activities with our students.  One of the rewards of teaching is that we get to meet and work with so many students over a rather short period of time.  So our exposure to them needs to be one of comfort and support while learning from them about the life experiences they bring to the classroom. 

We should not create barriers of attittude nor distance between ourselves and our students.  When we make mistakes we should admit them and move on.  When we have a chance to share a laugh with our students we should.  We should savor the opportunity of helping to move students toward long sought after goals.  These are the rewards of being an instructor of which we can be very serious while not taking ourselves too seriously.