Guest Author - Shannon Swanson

I think most of us know that feeling when you are teaching and there are those few people who continuously seem to be a distraction. What to do? Here are a few simple tips to help get everyone involved.

Tweak Your Lesson
One of the main reasons why people don’t pay attention to lessons is that they’re simply bored. Go through your lesson in your head or even practice giving it in front of a mirror. Do you think you would want to listen to yourself teach? Are your questions those that would engage the class? Do you feel that your class can gain a new perspective on the Gospel from your lesson?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you may want to go back and rework a few things. But remember that engaging and effective teaching takes time and practice, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Improve one thing at a time.

Rearrange the Furniture
Oftentimes I see people gather in the very back row, and as soon as the lesson begins, they are in their own little world, talking and giggling, thinking that they are hidden away from the rest of the class.

There are two solutions to this problem: One, you can simply ask everyone to move to the front few rows of the room. However, I can often see the near dread on everyone’s faces with this request as they move at a snail’s pace.

That is why I think that solution number two is a bit more effective, although it requires a little more effort on your part and that is to move the chairs around in a more involving arrangement. Either that, or you could remove some of the chairs from the back of the room if you don’t use them all.

Learn Everyone’s Names
Sometimes moving the chairs around isn’t an option, but don’t worry-there are more. Another one is to learn everyone’s names and use them throughout the class period. I know, I know. I hear it all the time that you aren’t good at learning names, but don’t let that hold you back. You can do it. The trick is to make associations between the person’s name and a characteristic that they have, even if it is silly. For example, Tina might be teeny in stature. Repeat this a few times in your mind.

Now, if and when you feel it is appropriate, ask specific questions or ask random people to read something for you, ask for personal experiences, etc. and use their name. It will show the class that they could be caught off guard, and by using people’s names, it will also show that you care about them and take notice of them.

Simply Stop
So, if none of these suggestions work for you, you may just want to stop teaching for a moment. I have used this technique so many times and it has never failed. I simply pause and look down like I am thinking-this is the nicer approach. Those who are talking eventually realize that they are the only ones talking, that everyone else is listening and, even if it takes a little while, get the hint and quiet down. If I need to, I might look right at them to make the point more clear.

Yet another twist on this is to calmly and kindly say something to the effect of how much you loved preparing this lesson and that you would simply like to pause for a moment to allow everyone to quietly think on a certain aspect of the lesson, personal experience, etc. You know your class best, so however you want to approach the situation is up to you.



One main point to remember when teaching is not to be afraid to take some sort of action if you need to. Your lesson is important and you are there to help everyone learn and feel the Spirit, so you may be doing a disservice to others if you do not create an environment that facilitates this.