this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2023
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What special ability do you posess that most people don't have?

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[โ€“] Lurker@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have a couple, and I love teaching my niece and nephew about them! Most superpowers can be learned with a bit of hard work! I taught my nephew how to switch between "eye contact" and actual direct eye contact when he needs to make sure his point is heard. He told me last Christmas that he still uses that trick on his parents and teachers and it works. I learned it in a sales job. My other super powers include speed reading (which my niece absues to get her assigned reading done faster), guessing people's coat and pant sizes, and predicting peoples actions, emotions, etc. I'm no Sherlock Holmes, and attribute this last one to being adhd, but I was able to pass some of that onto the kids, and I think it helped them a lot. I think its important to see people clearly, like knowing the diffrence between someone being violent or angry vs having an anxiety attack. My niece and nephew have taken this to heart, and I can tell they have made a ton of effort to adopt this 'Superpower'.

Knowledge itself is a super power, if you use it. The more you learn and attempt to understand without prejudice or bias, the stronger your power to help people becomes.

[โ€“] themadcodger@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What's the eye contact one? And how do you teach speed reading?

[โ€“] Lurker@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 year ago

Avoid actual eye contact for the entire conversation by looking near or around the eyes. This part is also a good tip for anyone who struggles with eye contact. The next part comes when you need to make a strong point or get the listener to really believe you. All you do is switch to actual, direct eye contact. It catches people off guard but is subtle enough that it seems like nothing has changed.

Speed reading is basically just practice. Look up youtube tutorials and keep at it until it feels natural. Just don't use it to actually read or you will miss things. My dad made me learn how to do it when i was a kid. While it's uncomfortable for me, it does help me a lot when I'm in a rush.