Getting support from others is less about showing how fabulous you are. It's more about showing them you know how fabulous they are. According to personal and professional development expert Brian Tracy in The Power of Charm, acceptance, appreciation, approval, admiration, and attention are key behaviors that make others feel more important and help win them over.
I'd actually add an adjective before each one: sincere. No one wants to be showered with false flattery, but they do like it when you genuinely notice things. And how do you show that? By listening.
Over the last couple of weeks, the topic of listening has come up in a variety of places. From a reporter confiding to me about a source, "He just didn't listen to my questions" to the exasperated look I caught from a friend when the story she was telling was interrupted for the fifth time by one of our dinner companions.
When people don't feel heard, they feel detached from you, and that's dangerous to the health of your personal brand and your network.
In an era of mass A.D.D, has listening become a lost art? How can we become better listeners?
Two ears - one mouth
Listening in person means paying attention to what someone is saying, without jumping in to hog the spotlight with your own 
insights. When they talk, it's their moment, give them the space to shine. Resist the urge to be their color commentator. It's annoying, for example, when a friend starts saying, "I was on a plane to Salt Lake City last week when...," and you jump in with a personal trivia nugget, "Oh, Salt Lake City, that's such a great place for skiing. It reminds me of the time I..." In other words, leave the pop-up video commentary to VH1.
Showing that you're listening online is even more powerful, because when it's so easy to post our thoughts, activities, and feelings everywhere, we don't want all those thoughts, activities and feelings to be about us. Actively read the blogs and status updates of your network, review their tweets, and share your reactions. Even better is to find opportunities to forward links to their content to your own network to help get their message in front of more people.
Acknowledge those who took the time
I'm definitely trying to get better at responding to blog comments to acknowledge those who've taken the time. It's definitely a work in progress, but I've made it a priority (by the way, if you're going to leave a comment, thank you in advance, I'll give a personalized reply as soon as I can!).
You might be thinking, "Who has time to listen when there is so much to pay attention to?" Just because you can't pay attention to everyone, doesn't mean you shouldn't pay attention to anyone. Obviously, those whose work is most relevant to you will get more of your focus. And personally, I tend to pay more attention to people who are paying attention to me. It's just human nature, I think. Though you don't want someone to come on too strongly and try to be your BFF after three or four retweets (hey, I can't be bought that cheaply).
To spoof a famous saying, "In the land of the deaf, the one-eared man is king." If you can listen to your customers, your prospects, your interviewers, your colleagues, and your supporters even just a little bit better than your competitors do, you'll have a big advantage even when all else is equal.
Read the original post on Personal Branding Blog
Yes, I agree with the points you make in this well written article. 'Listening' and 'Acknowledging' are two skills that many marketers (or anybody else) need to focus on rather than themselves.
Perhaps added to these two skills for effective communication is sincerity. A genuine interest first before thinking of making a sale.
I'll get off my soapbox now. :)
good solid blog here, I'm sure the info here will be helpful, thanks!
Well written and well understood! When you fail to really listen to other people, and constantly interrupt or allow your attention to wander over their shoulder you're not allowing the other person to express themselves properly. Someone with a great personal brand knows that it isn't about what you think about yourself that matters but what the perception of your character is in the world around you.
By really listening to someone you are offering them respect, and also their expression of self-esteem. At the same time you are giving them your time and that balance builds rapport and the 'likeability factor'. People buy people they like, trust and respect, and a good listener builds integrity in his own brand.
A great reminder for all of us! And I'd add that there's listening & then there's hearing. You can appear to be listening but showing evidence that you've really internalized what has been revealed to you is vital to building and keeping business & personal relationships going strong. Listening is the immediate action, hearing is the time-released effort. Miss either one of these & a noticable disconnect will occur.
New to your blog. . .excellent advice! Thanks
Hi Liz Lynch,
The blog post you have written is good one. But I thought that it should have more points than just two, I accept that you had only two points to share which are well written and also useful, I thought that the post have had atleast 4 points.I would appreciate your insistence on listening as the major skill for anyone's success.The final works are very impressive and strong.