From the age of eight, I was brought up in a single-parent household led by my mother and I was the oldest of the three children. Although I saw my father regularly, it was not a happy relationship – so altogether I was short of a respected father figure and tended to find one where I could.<\/p>\n
The first was my headmaster at the Roman Catholic direct grant grammar school in south Manchester where I studied from 1959 to 1966. The school was called the Xaverian College<\/a>, it was run by a religious order of brothers, and the headmaster was a guy called Brother Cyril. I saw a lot more of him than most pupils because he chose me as School Captain for my final year and he allowed me to nominate my own prefects and to establish a School Council.<\/p>\n Everyone found Brother Cyril a formidable, even scary, figure. Although short and very quiet, he commanded immense respect and even fear. So often when I visited him in his study, he would fall silent for what seemed an eternity. At first, I nervously rushed to fill the silence. But then I learned to stay silent myself and give him time to think. This silence technique is one I have subsequently used countless times to assist me in negotiations or encourage people to talk about their problems.<\/p>\n