"Many people calling for an interview, seeking an audience with a person in authority, do not want anything except a sympathetic ear — someone who will listen to them while they unburden themselves. It seems that no one wants sympathy so much as do these hard-boiled businessmen." The listener's job during the vent is to do almost nothing: "Listen patiently and with an open mind. Be sincere about it. Encourage the expression of the other person's ideas." Carnegie's case: an insurance company defused an indignant policyholder not by arguing but by letting him talk for hours — "When the storm blew over, the adjuster offered to do what was obviously right."

— In our words · Source: How to Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Carnegie)