Dive Master Training, Swim Test went back in class

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Thanks for the tips I need to slow down I try to go to fast. But I do hit the main safety points

Everyone gets nervous the first time or three. Dealing with customers in teh dive shop etc helps give you confidence with chatting to strangers - which is all you are doing

1. Own the brief be confident in yourself and you will appear confident to the guests (even if you don't feel it)

2. Inject some humour without being over the top - don't' be a mono-tone robot. I always joke to my guests, that we already have their money so we don't feel any obligation to bring them back ... Also feel free to get them to chuckle at your expense

3. Make it flow from start to finish in a logical order and pause between each point -

4 Hopefully you'll have a dive site plan to help describe. If not draw one in advance

5. Use the cue card to make your own bullet points

6. Make it interesting - if its dull you'll lose them which will put you off your stride.

7. ask for questions at end, they might ask something you forgot

I personally get the boat to congratulate the DM after their brief, and then pick up anything they've missed "I'd like to add..." I'll then council the DM in private with positive and improvements but am always supportive of the DM in front of the guests.

It's okay to make mistakes, we all do....

And yes practice beforehand
 
Everyone gets nervous the first time or three. Dealing with customers in teh dive shop etc helps give you confidence with chatting to strangers - which is all you are doing

1. Own the brief be confident in yourself and you will appear confident to the guests (even if you don't feel it)

2. Inject some humour without being over the top - don't' be a mono-tone robot. I always joke to my guests, that we already have their money so we don't feel any obligation to bring them back ... Also feel free to get them to chuckle at your expense

3. Make it flow from start to finish in a logical order and pause between each point -

4 Hopefully you'll have a dive site plan to help describe. If not draw one in advance

5. Use the cue card to make your own bullet points

6. Make it interesting - if its dull you'll lose them which will put you off your stride.

7. ask for questions at end, they might ask something you forgot

I personally get the boat to congratulate the DM after their brief, and then pick up anything they've missed "I'd like to add..." I'll then council the DM in private with positive and improvements but am always supportive of the DM in front of the guests.

It's okay to make mistakes, we all do....

And yes practice beforehand

Thank you for your advice. I did pass this weekend, and you are right I will have to write my own dive briefing for one site we dive.
 
Thank you for your advice. I did pass this weekend, and you are right I will have to write my own dive briefing for one site we dive.

Congrats!
 
I'm thinking of re-doing my equipment exchange as I'd like to get a 5. I've learned so much since I made the first attempt.


The best tip for equipment exchange is to balance the weight on your waist belt and in yoru gear, so that neither you nor your gear float away during the exchange.

I expect nothing more than a 5 from my DM Candidates for Equipment exchange and the tread water, because both are really easy. Getting 5's on these two also allows for them to get lower scores on the 3 swim tests whilst still making the grade
 
I'm thinking of re-doing my equipment exchange as I'd like to get a 5. I've learned so much since I made the first attempt.

Good for for you. While there is no requirement to get more than the minimum total, it can be good to challenge yourself to improve.

We challenge teh DM's to move past the basic exchange skill and practice doing it while neutral. It adds another level of problem solving, requires them to maintain position with BCD off and mask flood and clear and encourages teamwork. They don't have to do it, but I've yet to meet a group who aren't willing to step up to the challenge, and then their pride keeps them at it until they've mastered it. The skills are directly applicable to real world diving
 
Everyone gets nervous the first time or three. Dealing with customers in teh dive shop etc helps give you confidence with chatting to strangers - which is all you are doing

1. Own the brief be confident in yourself and you will appear confident to the guests (even if you don't feel it)

2. Inject some humour without being over the top - don't' be a mono-tone robot. I always joke to my guests, that we already have their money so we don't feel any obligation to bring them back ... Also feel free to get them to chuckle at your expense

3. Make it flow from start to finish in a logical order and pause between each point -

4 Hopefully you'll have a dive site plan to help describe. If not draw one in advance

5. Use the cue card to make your own bullet points

6. Make it interesting - if its dull you'll lose them which will put you off your stride.

7. ask for questions at end, they might ask something you forgot

I personally get the boat to congratulate the DM after their brief, and then pick up anything they've missed "I'd like to add..." I'll then council the DM in private with positive and improvements but am always supportive of the DM in front of the guests.

It's okay to make mistakes, we all do....

And yes practice beforehand
This list will make for a great instructor. Obviously I never did the IDC, but having been a career teacher, I found I was able to develop and improve on some of these points over time (years in some cases). If I had not, I would've soon quit teaching. What this boils down to is gaining the confidence and respect of students by developing your "teaching" personality and style (you can't try to just copy cat off someone who is already a superstar, you may want to adopt some of that person's methods, making subtle changes, etc.). Ie.--be yourself.
Side question-- How is the 1-5 scoring listed for the equipment exchange (ie. 1= done but sucked, 3= fairly average, etc.)?
 
Side question-- How is the 1-5 scoring listed for the equipment exchange (ie. 1= done but sucked, 3= fairly average, etc.)?

"In confined water, demonstrate the ability to effectively respond to an unusual circumstance underwater by exchanging all scuba equipment (except exposure suits and weights) with a buddy while sharing a single regulator second stage earning a minimum score of 3."

5 Task performed in a well-thought-out, efficient and purposeful manner with no sign of problems; very low anxiety level. Looks routine and appears easy.

4 Task performed competently with a relatively low anxiety level. Challenges encountered were easily and efficiently handled.

3 Complete exchange occurred without surfacing. However, numerous challenges were encountered that delayed the speed and efficiency of the
performance. This score is also appropriate for a diver overly dependent on another.

2 Significant problems demonstrated, and exchange completed only after one or both team members surfaced once.

1 Inability to complete the exchange; or exchange completed with one or both divers surfacing more than once.
 
DivingD, Thanks. I was lucky back then and we would've gotten a 5. But as I mentioned, we had a plan and were the same size. Just wondering--the 2nd time I did this (volunteering in another DM course), it wasn't as smooth as my partner was very small. How do you think I would have been graded? It went OK, but according to the list, I'd have given us a 3 or maybe 4 as a team. Does an instructor give the same grade for each buddy as a team or can each buddy get a separate grade? Ie.--How could I have gotten a 5 the first time and maybe a 3-4 the 2nd time? I would think a huge size difference would likely mean a less smooth performance. It seemed simpler when this exercise was pass/fail--perhaps that's why it was that way? I'm just talking I guess-- you're probably gunna pass the whole stamina thing whether you got a 3 ,4 or 5 on the exchange.
 
TMH-the whole point of the exchange is to put you on edge and in a difficult /challenging situation.But equally I feel its also your chance to demonstrate your forward thinking/planning. That said when theres a big size difference the hint is to always start with the other persons gear on. On two occasions the smaller person has gone up a BC size.
You are in theory grading each person individually but in practice end up grading the team.
 
TMH-the whole point of the exchange is to put you on edge and in a difficult /challenging situation.But equally I feel its also your chance to demonstrate your forward thinking/planning. That said when theres a big size difference the hint is to always start with the other persons gear on. On two occasions the smaller person has gone up a BC size.
You are in theory grading each person individually but in practice end up grading the team.
Agree with all you say (and was told what the objective here was, 10 years ago). Especially the "in theory/in practice" part. So, if you are graded as a team (in practice), how the other person does obviously affects your grade as well.
On both the occasions that I did the drill we started with the other's equipment on. As mentioned, the 2nd time with my buddy much smaller didn't go as fast, smooth and perfect as the first time with equal size buddies (could it possibly?). So--probably a lower grade for me. Again, this may be a reason it was pass/fail before 2010? Making it the 5th graded stamina skill -- change for change's sake?
 
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