Answer:  Learn to agree with what the other person is saying more often.

I don’t think we realize how often we disagree with the other person in conversation.

In his book on good conversational skills, How to Have a Beautiful Mind, Edward de Bono writes:

To have a beautiful mind you must genuinely seek to find points of agreement with the person with whom you are talking. Surprisingly, this is the most difficult aspect of all.

It is so difficult because the agreement must be genuine and not just sycophantic pretense. It is difficult because the motivation to do this is contrary to most people’s natural inclinations.

We can look at two extremes of agreement and disagreement:

You are so right. . .

I agree with everything you say. . .

I completely agree with you. . .

Absolutely right. . .

I agree one hundred percent. . .

If you agree with everything, there is not much of a discussion. . . The other person might as well be giving a lecture. Nice as it may sound, your contribution is not very significant.

Then there is the other extreme:

Yes, but. . .

I totally disagree. . .

You are wrong there. . .

That is not so. . .

This is the person who makes a point of disagreeing with everything that is said. This highly argumentative person seeks to demonstrate superiority through disagreement. Too often, academics or highly educated people behave in this manner because they have been encouraged to do so. This type of mind is intensely irritating and is far from being a beautiful mind.

You need to be somewhere between these two extremes. (How to Have a Beautiful Mind, p 4)

Related to the need to  disagree with the other person all the time is the need to be right. Edward de Bono wrties:

This is very much tied up with the ego. An argument is a battle between the egos. When you agree you seem to be submitting to the other point of view–so you lose.  When you disagree you are asserting your ego and indicating that you may be superior. . .

If you insist on always winning an argument you end up with nothing more than you started with–except showing off your arguing ability. When you lose an argument you may well have gained a new point of view. Being right all the time is not the most important thing in the world and it is certainly not very beautiful.

A discussion should be a genuine attempt to explore a subject rather than a battle between competing egos. (p 5)