May I Have Your Attention?

This goes out to everyone who has ever listened to anyone talk.  I'm specifically speaking of listening to public speakers, but it pretty much applies no matter who you're listening to and where you're listening to them.  ACT LIKE YOU'RE ALIVE!

It really helps if the speaker knows you are listening.  You don't even really have to care or act like you care.  I mean, it's nice to feel like the people you're talking to care since you cared enough to stand up in front of them, have your face turn red, fight your body's urge to pass out, risk saying something stupid, and feel critiqued by everyone in the audience for the duration of the talk and hours afterwards (hypothetically, of course).  But caring isn't necessary.  It's just helpful to the speaker if he/she knows that the words he/she says connect with your brain at some point.  When there is no response from the audience at all, you begin to wonder if you're, I don't know, accidentally speaking Chinese or something.  Then you get flustered, lose your place and either repeat yourself, or (if you're like me) just skip to the end and ask for questions.  Now, I'm not saying I really want to dialogue with people throughout my speech or have crazy people shouting things at me when I talk - I'd probably be just as flustered, if not more, if that happened.  Just a smile, nod, blink every few minutes would be nice.

So the next time you're listening to someone talk and they look your way.  Give 'em a smile or a nod or even a long distance fist bump.  Don't wink (unless it's your significant other), though.  That's just creepy.