"Rules of Engagement"

Their is a certain protocal that should be followed when engaging with friends and people of interest. This protocal will prove whether or not you or the person you are interacting with are genuinly interested in one another.
If the conversation is one sided ie: only one person is doing the talking and the other person is the one asking all the questions. The one sided dialogue proves that the other person does not care to ask the other person how they are doing.
This is an indication that the person doing the most talking is more enamoured with themselves than with the other person. And in conclusion the talkative person is more interested in what the other person thinks of them rather than in who the other person is.

Rule #1
Step out of being self absorbed and look around you. After answering another persons questions about yourself, take an interest in them and ask them how they are doing, what has gone on in their/they're(grammar?) life etc etc.

Rule #2
Take a turn at being the listener. Make a concious effort to do this next time you are spilling your guts to someone. Let them take a turn at sharing.

Rule #3
Practice Empathy. Don't steal someones thunder by changing the subject if they have just poured outh their woes to you and you say something like 'you think thats hard well I blah blah blah'. This just makes the other person feel like their problems are not significant.

Rule #4
If a person is telling a story don't interupt them and then forget to let them finish their story. If they are telling a story then it obviously has meaning to them. If you just aren't getting the point of the story.....ask more questions about it. This helps you understand the person more.

People have worth and we can choose to make them feel like they do or we can choose to steal that sense of worth away from them.
Are we enamoured with them or are we enamoured with them being interested in us?