1) Chop the chocolate into small pieces of equal size and place them in a fireproof dish. 
2) Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water so that the bottom of the pot is not touching the water. 
3) When the chocolate begins to melt stir it slowly until it forms a soft uniform mass and then keep it away from the fire. 

Caution: Do not melt chocolate directly onto the heat source (unless it is mixed with other materials, but even in these cases keep the temperature low).

Happy cooking..