I think that to relate to others properly you need to be listening to them and identifying with them. You need to be doing that from a place that’s more than just about your own interests.

The proper poise should involve caring. Caring, that is, about who the other is and not who you would like them to be. You are trying to appreciate how it is for them. You are able to see from their perspective as well as your own. From there you learn and are able to build a genuine connection. If the bond is true the other person will feel it.

For me that’s the essence of good relationship whether in business or intimacy. It’s astounding just how rare a phenomenon it is. However unreal I may be in wishing for it, that’s the real deal for me, the only thing I settle for. Everything else is travesty.