No need to apologize.
I am talking about both manipulation and negotiation/inspiration, actually. They involve overlapping skill sets, used in different ways: reading and accurately interpreting other people's emotional profiles, needs, motivations, etc., and then employing that understanding to achieve a purpose. One includes the interests of the other person, and one does not. Rather than viewing it as a a behavior to be extinguished, I find it more productive for myself to view it as a value-neutral skill set which can be turned to either prosocial or antisocial uses.
