As the person is speaking to you and as they are telling you things, do use their language when they respond. Again, take this quite literally. If someone were to say to you, ‘well I’m fed up with these things where we’re always being asked to do more’, don’t turn round to them and say ‘what makes you get so cross about it?’ They haven’t said that they were cross, they said that they were fed up. Use their words, ‘what makes you feel fed up about it’? They will immediately begin to feel that you are on their side which is one of the things you want to achieve if you are a good influencer.