My preferred place to be when walking into a rehearsal or class is three steps ahead. I want to be far enough ahead to anticipate any questions, to be prepared with accurate answers or advice, and to guide my students smoothly forward in their learning.
But you can’t always be three steps ahead. Sometimes life holds you back, and you walk in just one step ahead. Or no steps ahead.
In that situation, you rely on past experience to be able to at least move faster than your students. You can anticipate and still teach and guide well.
Even so, sometimes you get a question you’re not prepared to answer. When that question comes, you can’t bluff. You can’t avoid. You must say, “I don’t know.”
Get three steps ahead as soon as you can. But in the meantime, learn alongside your students.