The subject matter is not important. The role of the listener Listeners play an active role in Speaking Freely. As a member of the audience, your mission is not to just sit passively. This means that you're not coolly staring at the speaker but directing your attention toward the individual in a supportive, receptive, non-judgmental way. You listen, not just to what the person says, but to who the person is.
Most people grow up with an innate fear of audiences.
This is why, as a listener, it is especially important to keep your gaze trained on the speaker, even when the person is not looking at you. When the speaker does turn back toward you, it is immensely reassuring for the individual to discover that you're still actively paying attention and not staring off into space or fiddling with your appointment book or being distracted in some other way. Once you're up in front of the group, and after the applause has died down, you want to allow yourself three or four seconds to establish a relationship with your listeners in a quiet, unhurried manner by allowing your eyes to connect with theirs and by allowing yourself to receive their support. This deliberate moment also reduces the impulse to start off on the wrong foot by trying to adapt to someone else's time frame and rushing into your talk. When you begin speaking, talk to one person at a time.