Looking someone in the eye while they talk is worth more now than any compliment. Almost nobody does it anymore.

Eye contact used to be ordinary and has become rare, which is exactly what makes it land. When most conversations happen with one person half looking at a screen, being fully looked at registers as unusual care. It costs nothing and it cannot be faked for any real length of time. People notice it even when they cannot say what was different.

Try it in three conversations this week, phone away, face up, no glancing past them. It is slightly uncomfortable at first. It is also the cheapest way to make somebody feel like they matter.