60-Second Symposium

By Melissa August, Michelle Derrow, Tam Gray, Daniel S. Levy, Lina Lofaro and David Spitz

TALK TO ME

With Hillary Clinton on a "listening tour" of New York and her prospective Senate rival Rudolph Giuliani fresh from "listening" all over Little Rock, Ark., we asked experts to guide the eager-eared pols on how best to seem receptive.

"Try not to keep saying 'Uh-huh,' which implies 'Get on with it!' Instead, try 'Mmm-hmm,' with a nod, which says, 'I'm taking this in.' Also, don't keep track of time. Have an aide tap you rather than look at your watch. You want to make the person you're talking to feel they're the only person on the planet." --DR. JOYCE BROTHERS

"Giuliani has a Venusian side; he's just not aware of it. He's got to try harder to find it--even if it means biting his tongue 10 times before giving an opinion. Hillary is a very good listener, but she has the tendency to jump in with an answer too soon." --DR. JOHN GRAY, author, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

"Hillary has lots of experience listening; most women spend many bored or happy hours listening to men. Good listeners always remember to keep their eyes on the person they're talking to without trying to see if there's someone more interesting standing behind." --DR. DEBORAH TANNEN, author, You Just Don't Understand