WANT TO LEARN TO SOCIALIZE BETTER?  WATCH OTHERS
This young man with Asperger's has done exactly that, and it's helped him--here's how:
"David Finch has Asperger’s syndrome and struggled to identify with others socially. That is, until he started taking cues from the likes of Howard Stern and David Letterman.
Finch — who recently penned a book about his experience as an adult newly-diagnosed with Asperger’s — said he learned different things from each talk show host he observed.
Stern, for example, can keep a story going for 30 minutes or more on his radio show, continually peeking listeners’ interest by changing his tone. Even when interrupted, the shock jock uses humor to bring the conversation back to his story, Finch says.
Meanwhile, from Letterman, Finch learned to use facial expressions and other body language to get points across.
It took some practice, but Finch says he eventually learned to model the talk show hosts’ techniques for his own benefit.
“I always thought conversations were overrated. But now that I could actually do it, I thought it was really cool,” Finch told The New York Post."

To read more about this story, go here.

And I very much agree with Mr. Finch. I've done the same kinds of things he has, though on a smaller scale.  I teach history at the college level for a living.  So part of what you do as a teacher is you present history in a classroom setting to college students.  That is, you speak in front of them.  You lecture.  Of course, I can't use facial expressions to "reach" people.  But that doesn't mean you can't reach them.  There are many other things you can do.  I've found that you have to show energy.  You have to move around.  You have to use different voice inflections, sometimes speaking loudly (if for nothing elsed than to wake people up!), but then at times you have to quiet down.  You have to have good pace;you can't speak too fast.  Indeed, sometimes it's good to go slowly; that way people can easily keep up with you.

And all these things are points I learned...from watching other teachers; from watching speakers on video, or listening to people on the radio.  It doesn't really matter that much who it is; any of you out there can tell who's a good speaker, who holds your attention.  So...watch them.  Pay attention to them.  What do they do, that maybe you can do as well?  That's what you want to watch for.  Because oalways remember, those of you with Moebius Syndrome--you go to school, you have jobs.  And when that's the case, there are going to be times when you're going to have to speak in front of people.  And you can do it!  And you can do it effectively.  Just find some techniques that will work for you.


“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were.  ”--John F. Kennedy (1917-1963