Ok. I made you start this thread, so I should go first...
At its most basic, for me, its about feeling that I matter to you, and that you are really interested in communication and relating, not just someone to goof around with or someone you can talk at without really caring about. I can stand those people too, but never share much of myself with them.
What I've noticed make me feel warm inside immediately is someone looking me straight in the eyes when listening to me (though not necessarily when talking to me), not interrupting me, and not being afraid to ask direct and specific questions.
The best thing to get a conversation going with me, would be to start off with something that I feel confident about talking. At the same time, something too trivial will not interest me (Yes, I know I'm hard to please...) so try choosing a topic you know I relate to. If you don't know me, go for something obvious from the context but keep it to ideas, principles and relations if possible. Sharing your own feelings, would help me a lot in talking about my own, but don't make me talk about my own feelings unless I want to.
And not going too quickly about it. I need time to process everything you say, and mentally double check everything I want to say, so just babbling away won't get you anywhere with me. Keep it steady and at a moderate pace. And did I say eye contact is very important, and really all kinds of non-verbal communication. Put in a big dose of positive feedback on whatever I say, and you're probably there.
Hey, this was fun writing... :crazy: