Don't let status change the conversation
I am probably like most people in that when I meet someone who I deem to be important the way I deal with them changes. It introduces a more reserved interaction with more careful responses.
It is something I am improving. I am now dealing with 'C' level executives which in the past would have put me much more on the back foot.
Derek Sivers has written about a chat he had where he really clicked with someone and only later found out how important he could be to his life - which if he had known previously would have completely changed the way they interacted.
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