Have a genuine interest in people.

I am people's person. I love meeting and talking to people. I don't go out of my way to do it but if our path crosses one way or the other, I would remember you and if I like you, I will try to keep in touch with you. People often ask me how I do it. My answer is by showing sincere interest - both in the person and things that are important to that person. By expressing genuine interest in the person’s qualities, background, stories, hobbies, career, family, or anything else closely connected to that person. I think by doing that I give them a sense of importance and value.

If we meet two strangers and one of them gives us undivided attention and the other one does not even accept our existence let alone our values, which one do you think you would remember? Of course, you would remember the person who gave you his total undivided attention.  Not only you would remember him but you would have good feelings about him. On the other hand, even if you remember the second person, you would have negative feelings about him.

We are social animals. We like to be part of a group. We like to connect with others and most of all we want others to acknowledge our presence and to value our worth. I think, developing our ability to build meaningful relationships will play a vast role in both our personal and professional success.

When we meet people for the first time or greet them for the 100^0th time, we have an opportunity to make a positive impression on them. The key is to take few seconds to look them in the eyes with warmth and authenticity and to offer them a friendly greeting. If appropriate give them a friendly firm handshake or a hug. (I love hugging so I do it often, there might be people who don't like hugs but I have not met them yet.)

We should use their name in all our communications, written or verbal, first time or repeated. In Dale Carnegie's, timeless book 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' he wrote, “If you want to win friends, make it a point to remember them. If you remember my name, you pay me a subtle compliment; you indicate that I have made an impression on you. Remember my name and you add to my feeling of importance.”

There is a difference between superficial listening and authentic listening. Listening with interest indicate  that we really care about what they are saying in contrast to superficial listening because it is the polite thing to do. If we question whether people can tell the difference, DON’T. They can and they will. People can smell pretenders easily.

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Show your interest by asking questions.  It could be as simple as striking up a conversation with a co-worker about what they did over the weekend. Or perhaps asking something about the person’s family. Asking genuine questions generally stimulate a person to talk about their interests and themselves.

Show respect by acknowledging their presence. When we acknowledge people, not only we make positive impression but we also make them feel good about themselves.

One of the best ways to demonstrate the importance of a relationship is to call someone just to see how they’re doing. People often call because they have self-serving agenda.  Those who call because they genuinely care about us, stand out in our mind.

Take time to notice positive behavior and complement them on it.  I mean genuine compliment. When people take the time to offer you a sincere compliment, how does that make you feel about them?

Try to encourage people, to lift their spirit up, to enhance their self-confidence and their self-worth. The world is full of people who want to tear us down and we all appreciate when we find someone who is willing to lift us up.

When we make the effort to remember important dates in people’s lives, such as their birthdays, anniversaries, religious holidays or perhaps even the anniversary of a loved one’s death, our efforts will be noticed and appreciated.

For the most part, life follows 'do unto others you would have them do unto you,' with some exception. I am a strong believer that if you do something from your heart, you would not go wrong. Good luck!