I think it's not something you can fake. You have to genuinely understand and value the other persons's opinion. Also, for this to work in the long term, you h

I think it's not something you can fake. You have to genuinely understand and value the other persons's opinion. Also, for this to work in the long term, you have to allow yourself to lose the argument from time to time. Sometimes you have to fold on purpose (even if you think your idea is better). Of course you have to do so strategically - You have to fold arguments when the consequence isn't very important - That gives you the ammunition to be very firm in your stance when the decision is important. You don't want to be perceived like a 'cunning mule'. I had a boss who used this trick of agreeing first and then disagreeing but they did it for EVERY argument - After spending a few months with this person, you notice the pattern. If someone wins every argument, it becomes noticeable and the trick doesn't work anymore - The workplace environment becomes tense.