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The leader should be able to think quickly and to express himself clearly and with economy of words and time.  If he has a good sense of humor, he will be able to ease tension from time to time by joking remarks.  The better he likes his job and the deeper his interest in the subject under discussion, the more successful the whole affair is likely to be.  That of course does not mean that he should adopt an air of artificial heartiness, but rather that he should have a genuine friendly interest in his group and its problems.  Such a leader will want to feel confident of himself in handling the particular discussion technique that is used, and he will want to be as familiar as possible with the subject that is chosen for study. 

These may seem very high qualifications, but it is a rare command that will not produce many men who can meet them.  Moreover, it should not be forgotten that skill develops by practice.  Sometimes men can be found who already have had practice in leading group discussions.  Others will find that their skill will increase as the discussion groups continue.  And, as will be shown later, even a leader without experience can do a good job if he takes the trouble to prepare carefully for his meetings.

a.  Relation of the leader to the group:  The relationship of a discussion leader to his group differs from the conventional idea of military leadership.  Unlike a commander, a discussion leader does not lead by example or attempt to inspire confidence in himself as an expert.  He must not be a propagandist.  On the contrary, he must himself be an inquirer.  He wins confidence in his leadership by his acquaintance with the background of the discussion and by proposing a way to the next step in the discussion.  He does not take the next step and expect the other members to follow.  He is in essence a good teacher rather than an academic lecturer.

The skillful leader opens the discussion with a brief statement of the question and the salient facts related to it.  This takes perhaps five minutes.  Then he starts the discussion with a

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