aware of surroundings ideas - got lots of them -

pick an object in the room a chair you are sitting on, the table in front of you, your clothing. My favorite is my sneakers. and then you focus on relly seeing it. notice the texture, color, warmth or coldness, hard or soft. Touch that object.. Shift your position. write in a otebook by keeping notes, at the same time notice the texture and color of the pen.

Its natural for someone to change positions while talking to someone. My favorite is I start out sitting in a char with one leg up then when I need to change positions I put that leg down then when I need to change positions again I put the leg back up. When my leg is up so that my foot is resting on my other leg I can trace the different designs on my sneaker. people do this kind of thing all the time so it isn't mistaken for anything abnormal. I take notebook and pen with me that way I can stay aware by taking notes and sometimes trace the holes and binding spiral with my fingers,

I also focus on the person that is talking, notice their tone of voice facial expressions, sometimes theres a small twitch going on. their hair, jewelry and so on.