Interested In Others

The more you are interested in others the more interesting they’ll find you.To be interesting, be interested. — Ryan Hawk.

The above concerns learning more about someone you want to know, but it also applies to your competition or opponent. The more one knows about the person standing across from you on a field of play or in business the better.

When I first started my law practice I watched a save older lawyer spend the first hour of a deposition of the plaintiff in a personal injury case learning about her childhood days and background. He asked about her grandmother and how she was raised much to the frustration of the opposing attorney, He later explained to me that he did this because many times the plaintiff who shows up in the courtroom isn’t the same person who is at her deposition. Besides he said, “I wanted her to think I was more interested in her than her own counsel. It would prove to be helpful when it was time to talk settlement.”

I digressed. We learn a lot about ourselves when we listen to others speak about themselves.