Some skills people see right away.
If you spend much time around me, you’ll quickly figure out that I can teach, write, referee a football game, and probably tell you more than you wanted to know about bourbon, classic films, or old songs.
But secret skills are different. They’re the things people don’t immediately expect.
One ability I’ve always valued is the ability to read a room quickly. In a classroom, that matters. You can often tell within seconds whether students are engaged, confused, restless, worried, or just pretending to listen while mentally planning lunch. That’s not something listed on a résumé, but it may be one of the most useful skills a teacher develops.
Another is interviewing people. Journalism sharpened that instinct years ago, but even now I enjoy asking questions that help someone tell a story they didn’t realize they were carrying. Somewhere along the way, I also discovered that I can read upside down remarkably well. Is that invasive? Possibly. Has it occasionally been useful when notes, schedules, or documents were sitting on the other side of a desk during an interview? Absolutely. I prefer to think of it as an occupational advantage rather than a character flaw.
And maybe one more: I can usually take scattered thoughts, fragments, memories, and unfinished ideas and shape them into something worth reading. That may be why writing has never really left me alone.
As for a skill I wish I had? I wish I could play piano well.
Not just enough to pick out a tune — I mean sit down and play with confidence, fill a room with music, and let the keys say things words sometimes cannot.
There’s something about that ability that has always seemed almost magical to me.
Maybe because words have always been my instrument, and I admire people whose instrument answers back immediately.
Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
