I was recently asked by a high school senior applying to colleges this fall about how to build relationships with professors (especially when they have many students). Actually, I'd never really thought about this question, especially from the perspective of a student. What is useful to hear? What do I want my students to know about this topic?
I don't know if I said the right things, but here's the gist of how I responded.
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Thank you for your email! That's a great, and also really important, question you ask about building relationships with professors. Of course it'll depend on your interpersonal style too, but here are some thoughts I have.
First, I think most professors become professors because 1) they are nerds and 2) because they sincerely enjoy working with students. As in, most instructors (whether they're full-time professors or part-time lecturers) genuinely want to talk to and mentor young scholars. So, I hope you never feel like you are bothering your instructors by going to talk to them! Most of us really do want to get to know students, so please don't be shy. :)
Second, instructors have scheduled office hours during which we sit in our offices twiddling our thumbs, waiting for folks to stop by. (OK, not exactly, but sort of...) And we're very happy when people come talk to us! In this sense, office hours are your best friend—so as long as your schedule works with your instructors' office hours, try to make it a point to go visit them during the first few weeks of the academic term. It always helps us to be able to put students' names and faces together, and we also tend to think more positively of students with whom we are familiar! (Psychology...)
Third, it's both good to have questions you want to ask your instructors that you visit, AND totally fine not to have any specific questions to ask at all! Of course, if there's something from class materials that you want clarification on, by all means ask that during office hours. But you can also literally just go to an instructor and say, "I was told by someone that it's OK (and good!) just to drop by and introduce myself, so I wanted to do that!" And whether your conversation lasts for 5 minutes or 25 minutes, at least you've taken the first step.
Fourth, building relationships with anyone takes time—and it's no different with instructors. So don't feel like you have to rush to get to know people. And just like you wouldn't force yourself to get to know someone you don't much care for, don't feel like you have to get to know all of your instructors. As you take your classes, you'll get a better feel for the kinds of instructors that you jibe with. It's totally natural. Maybe over the course of your time in college, you'll get to take multiple classes with someone. Or maybe you just take a rando class once, and that'll be it, but you'll feel like you'll want to keep visiting that instructor's office hours even after you've finished taking their class. And most instructors, I think, appreciate it when students keep in touch with them. It's nice to be remembered. :)
Fifth and finally—and I hate to sound calculating, but I think it's actually OK—getting to know instructors will become really useful when it comes time to ask for letters of recommendation and references for job applications. You don't have to be thinking about this from the get-go, but it's OK to have it in the back of your mind, too. It's just a part of being a college student. But because of this, it's always good to be respectful, professional, and genuine. And again, please don't force yourself to get to know a professor when you're just not feeling it. Chances are, the kinds of instructors with whom you'll develop strong relationships are folks with whom you feel comfortable and excited talking to anyway. And the more people you get to know, the more sense you'll develop for identifying people that you want to build more meaningful connections with, both in and outside of college.
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I don't think I said anything that was a lie... and I feel like the biggest truth in there for me is that I appreciate being remembered by students. Sometimes it's lonely to be left behind as each year students graduate and move on to bigger and better things (as they should!)...
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