In our business, I find joy in making sure each of my clients remembers that she matters. It is so easy to get swept up in the every day runnings of life and feel insignificant. It can't begin and end there though. It's important to me that you take all those warm and happy feelings, then let someone else know that they too are important.

When I think about other people who have made a lasting impression in my life, they are not people that did grand or amazing things. They are people that in some simple way made me feel important. Through their words and actions they let me know that I matter.

Being important and mattering is a basic human need. There isn't one person in the world who doesn't want to belong. We all want to know and feel that our existence is important and our lives matter. There are so many things we can do to make a difference in someone else's day. Here are two things you can start doing today that will have people walking away from you saying to themselves "I am important. I matter."

One. Begin and end sentences with the word "you." You are wonderful. You are so good at (fill in the blank.) Meetings would be so boring without you. You amaze me. I admire you. It feels good just reading them and saying them out loud. Imagine just how amazing someone will feel when they hear these statements from you!

Two. Listen with interest, and be present. Listening with interest is listening with your ears and your heart! It's truly enjoying what the speaker has to say and wanting to hear more. This is not interjecting your own similar story. This is not listening just to be polite. How can the listener tell the difference? They just can! Being present means listening with your ears, and your eyes, and your brain. You know that distant look that someone gets when you are talking and you know they are just somewhere else. You feel invisible. Guard yourself against this and listen with your heart.

There are many more ways you can let others know that they are important. How do you make someone feel like they matter?  Share in the comments below!