Environmentalist didn't speak for 17 years to learn how to listen to opponents
I did 3 months hard core full time Yoga in an ashram some years ago. As part of the program; I didn't speak, read or write for a month. Or cut nails or hair, but that's another story :) As an added bonus; the entire group followed the same program, which meant that I didn't have to listen to them either.The main take home for me was that most of the things that I feel are really important to say in my daily life aren't. Once it was over, being expected to speak felt like a burden.