You Say It Best When You Say Nothing At All

My uncle is a university lecturer who is hated by his current students and loved by his previous students. This is one reason why.

He normally has the first 9:00 am lecture of the term. For the first lecture of every year, he waits at the desk and arrives before any student. As each enters, he watches them, unsmiling and not saying anything except a curt “Good morning” if given one.

As soon as that second hand hits 9:00 am, he is off at full speed, no prisoners held. All the students are thinking, “Who the h*** is this guy?”

And then the first latecomer comes in. My uncle will stop lecturing and stare at this student, unspeaking, from when they open the door to when they have taken their seat and are ready to write, at which point he starts talking again.

He repeats this for every single late student.

At the second lecture, everyone is ten minutes early and ready for the lecture. Always works.