3.10.2.3 With Mystery

Not long ago a candidate for the presidency of the United States delighted an audience of ten thousand or more in the Salt Lake Tabernacle by his remarkable handling of questions and comments thrown at him from that vast audience.

There was no hesitancy or uncertainty. He spoke “as one who knew.” He was prepared. He had so lived with the questions of the day that they fairly seemed to be part of him.

The interesting teacher never teaches all he knows. His reserve material inspires both interest and confidence. A class begins to lose interest in a teacher the moment they suspect that his stock in trade is running low.

The mystery, “how one small head could carry all he knew,” is still fascinating.

Thorough preparation, moreover, minimizes the likelihood of routine, the monotony of which is always deadening.

A class likes a teacher—is interested in him—when it can’t anticipate just what he is going to do next and how he is going to do it.

Related posts:

1. 3.9.5 Why Interest Is the Key to Attention
2. 3.10.2.2 Preparation
3. 3.10.2.1 He Himself Be Interested
4. 3.9.4 How To Secure Attention
5. 3.6.2 The Method of Disuse