I'm not going to mention the obvious: Good writing and spelling skills. Besides business writing is totally different from fiction writing and it takes different writing muscles. I'm not real good at business-type writing at all.
Since I've been published, I've actually been asked to speak in front of groups of people. As an introvert, this is a horrible thing, but I made myself do it. It's true that I'll never really enjoy this. In fact, I still get sick when I know I'll be doing any kind of presentation, but I've become better at speaking and not sounding like an idiot.
Cut to the day job. My boss is trying to get everyone in the department to look and sound professional when they talk in front of a group. My guys have to do it a lot to get projects approved and all that. I slid by for a year without having to do it. And then it happened.
I'm sure everyone thought I'd be a stuttering wreck. Not because they don't like and respect me, but because they know I'm quiet. I think I surprised them all by being calm and actually able to present coherently. This is a skill set I never would have chosen to develop on my own without being asked to speak in front of groups about my writing and books.
Okay, so it's still something I'd rather not do and I'm sure I wasn't smooth like a TV spokesman or a politician, but the important thing is I could do it without being a nervous wreck.
I'm not sure about how many verbal ticks I used. You know: um, er, like, so, etc. The filler words that are so hard to cull from speech. I tried not to use them, but they're so ingrained that they come out unconsciously. But I did okay. That's what counts.
