I love the "let's pause for the cause" phrase. You'll have to tell me where you got that, Liz.

Anyway, I think "shut up and listen" is one of the better pieces of advice that I've received too. In fact, a couple of tutors from DePaul's Writing Center were talking about how long we're supposed to shut up and listen in our sessions. We read an article by Muriel Harris that suggests a 15-second rule, but we all agreed that 15 seconds really wasn't long enough. I've found that if I wait a little longer, I'm often rewarded by a surprisingly insightful or dead-on response from my student, and I think waiting for those moments are worth it. They build that student's confidence in her ability to come up with the answer herself.

-- Faith