Several years ago I was cajoled into joining Toastmasters.  Public speaking has never been my thing and, quite frankly, terrifies me.  This probably started when I was in sixth grade and was called upon to stand in front of the class to read my essay.  For the occasion I wore a new dress that, unbeknownst to me, was slightly diaphanous when standing in the right light.  You can imagine the gleeful giggling from the class.

Later, in grad school, that fear of public speaking continued until I realized no one was really paying attention to me as I droned on about international finance.

I still wanted to be a better speaker.

Toastmasters helped a bit.  I was less terrified of standing in front of the dozen or so folks who gamely showed up for the Friday afternoon meeting.   And, with the wisdom of age, I have become indifferent to the opinion of others.

The surprising thing I discovered was how difficult it was to be a good listener.  That’s what's interesting about Toastmasters, even if you aren’t speaking that day, you were still expected to participate by listening and offering constructive criticism of the speaker.

I was impressed by the thoughtfulness and depth of the comments made by other members.  It was if I hadn’t heard the same presentation.  My mind may have wandered off, wondering what was for dinner or some other trivial thing.

Listening is challenging.  We have to shut out all those things rattling around in our brains.  But once we are able to do that, we are present and will not miss those interesting important details.