What’s a skill you had to learn that came as a surprise?
Is that the right form of the question?

Kyle and I have been talking about things that we were surprised we had to learn, things that some neuro-divergence or quirk or our upbringing prevented us from picking up naturally. The focus is on core skills: listening, socialising, empathy, et al.

There’s also a sub-thread on how over-developed skills can obscure underdevelopment elsewhere, eg. because by a combination of empathy and observation I’m able to read people quote well, lots of people don’t notice that I’m not a very good listener. The knack has hidden the lack, even from me: the awareness that I’m not a good listener is only really coming into focus now, after 28 trips around the sun.