A fellow Toastmaster received thoughtful and honest answers to some questions, rather than an off-the-cuff response.

As we were dropping off our exchange student at our local high school, my middle-school son said of the boy getting out of the car in front of us, “I know him, he’s nice.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because on the bus, he’s one of the few high schoolers that talk to the middle schoolers.”

Think back to your formative years, or even to those first years after college. What people do you remember the most?

For me its three kinds of people; my peers, the bullies and the mentors who talked with me.

My peers, because we had something to share.

The bullies, because they scared me.

My mentors, because they went out of their way to help me. They talked with me, answered my questions, offered me opportunities. I will always remember them.

Do you know kids, teens, or newbies at your office? Do you go out of your way to talk with them?

Aren’t you glad that people talked with you in your early years?

I am.