Many of us want to improve the quality of the relationships we currently have in our lives. We want to be able to develop true friendships as well as being able to quickly gain rapport with new people we meet.

It's funny that the key ingredient to building a quality relationship with someone can be seen so obviously in nature. The problem is, we are so busy focusing on ourselves that we tend to overlook it.

The key ingredient to building quality relationships is to listen more.

This is an interesting concept. God has given us two ears and only one mouth, which some have stated implies that we should listen twice as much as we speak. I know that I am a big fan of speaking but years ago I used to be a bigger fan of listening. The more you listen to someone, the more they open up. The more that they open up, the easier it is to relate to them, to build rapport, to gain trust, respect and their confidence in you.

Who have you already spoken to today? Was it your spouse, children, brother or sister, a loved one, a friend? Did you spend that time listening to what they had to say or just waiting for your turn to speak?

This character trait is most obvious when you are around someone who doesn't speak a lot. When they do speak, the importance placed on their words are the more tremendous. What they say has more impact.

Spend a little bit of time today and every day from now on listening to others. Don't try to give an opinion (note: this one is hard and takes time to eliminate), but just listen. If you get stuck and don't know what to say, ask questions that elicit further conversation. Chances are, you will learn a lot more about a person and you will come to have a greater appreciation for them, as they will for you.