Being interested trumps being interesting

Jim Collins, author of the 2001 best-seller Good to Great, tells the story of a mentor stunning him--and changing his life and his approach as a teacher--when the friendly critic said, "Jim, you worry too much about being interesting instead of worrying about being interested."

An important but subtle distinction lies in that criticism. Wanting to  be interesting often masks a neurotic and self-focused need to please and impress others. Concern with being interested instead abandons self-focus and opens to the wider world of knowledge and experience. 

The first always smacks of contrivance; the second is rooted in openness and curiosity; the best teachers are interested, and being interested is contagious. Students want to be infected by whatever germ being interested carries. Best of all, I think, when one shows interest, one disregards all anxiety about being wrong.