Listening is the number one way to make people like you – none other than the great master of human relations, Dale Carnegie said so.

But we live the age of everyone talking – and few bother to stop and make the conversation reciprocal.

This is partially due to our addiction to social media and chat.

On the first day of a new class, almost everyone is seated, on their phones, looking down and oblivious to anyone around them and yet young people wish they could make more friends.

At the end of last semester, a student asked me to allow time for students to introduce themselves to each other – what a great idea that I am stealing for September.

To make a friend, ask questions and listen – it’s not sexy advice, but it works every time.

Or, as Nilsson sang:

Everybody’s talkin’ at me
I don’t hear a word they’re sayin’
Only the echoes of my mind