Teaching is tough work

I am reading three books right now on how I can become a better communicator to the students in our community. In Speaking to Teenagers, Fields and Robbins offer a chart that shows what it takes to give a message and have it actually stimulate life-change in a student (pg.17). They got this list of questions from the book, The Human Connection. It's a list of questions that all require the answer of YES to move down the list.

1. Pay attention to the message?
2. Comprehend it?
3. Believe it?
4. Remember it?
5. Behave accordingly?

If you come up with a NO then there is no action and the student cannot move to the next question. We don't want a NO when we are speaking to our students! So before they behave accordingly, they have to remember, and before they remember, they have to believe, and before they believe, they have to comprehend it, and before they comprehend it, they have to be paying attention.

Great stuff to be thinking about next time we sit down to prepare a message, lead a small group, or spend time mentoring a student.