Only a few things about people truly matter.
These are the things that make them most deeply who they are: their hopes, dreams, fears, loves, joys. To me these are the really important things.
I’m not much of a people person. I don’t like crowds, and I don’t say much. But I do often like people, as individuals.
(Not all people, of course. I try not to engage with those who act as if everyone else owes them a living, with those who delight in power plays, with those who try to force their beliefs and opinions on others, or with those whose hearts and minds are closed. But most of the people I encounter are perfectly fine by me.)
This to me is the essence of the art of conversation: knowing what not to say, and knowing how to listen.