Holding ground in discomfort is a teacher superpower.
Sometimes that looks like letting silence last after a question. Human discomfort with silence is strong, so the urge is strong to answer your own question. But students feel the same discomfort, and you only need to outlast them by a couple of seconds to get them to engage with the educational discussion.
Sometimes it looks like being willing to look silly, crazy, or nerdy for the sake of the educational effect. If you can stand the discomfort of looking momentarily uncool, it will pay off with memorable lessons that reach their mark.
And sometimes it looks like saying, “We won’t move on” in rehearsal – until they get it right. I know that I will often want to move on and say, “Keep working on this, you’ll get it.” But I think we’re often (not always, but often) better served by staying put in one musical place, working on fixing the wrong notes, fuzzy rhythms, or wishy-washy expression. If we can be okay with the discomfort of making our ensemble live in their discomfort of continuing to work on something they’re doing poorly, we can push through and get to the other side.
Additionally, knowing that they might have to live in that discomfort in rehearsal can be a great motivator to practice between rehearsals.
Get comfortable in discomfort. It’s a superpower.