Giving a toast or a few words at a family dinner is practice for every room you’ll ever walk into.

Standing up in front of people who already like you is the easiest hard room you will ever be handed. The nerves are nearly identical to the ones in interviews and meetings, but the stakes are not, so you get to practise the real skill for free. Learning to hold a room is a matter of repetitions, and family meals are a repetition almost nobody thinks to use.

Offer a few words at the next one. Two sentences and a specific detail about somebody is plenty. Stand up, say it, sit back down.