Wednesday, November 15, 2006
The Lost Art of Conversation
The weather is a certain subject of conversation that can break the ice with potential acquaintances and strangers because the weather is a reality we all have in common.
“Nice day!”
“Yes it is. Are you enjoying it?”
“Of course. We’ve been cooped-up over the last week with the rain and…”
You get the point. A good conversationalist finds subjects that are common to the talker and listener, the weather the most common of realities.
Small talk is an art but for some people, small talk is, really, irrelevant conversation, especially when the talker’s subject is they, which can be very irritating.
“What makes you possibly think that your life is interesting to me?”
I never ever actually say this, but it certainly crosses my mind.
A good conversationalist is a good listener.
The relevant nod of the head and the occasional acknowledgement will go along way to making life-long friends, because most people’s favourite subject is themselves.
If one keeps this in mind could possibly win many friends and become influential to those around them. (An old success strategy but a tried and true one) Listen to people discuss their “quiet lives of desperation”, displaying a modem of empathy, and they will be your friend forever.
Conversation is an art form, a true art form that has been lost as it used to be a skill, a necessary skill which people attempted to practice and achieve.
Not all is lost; occasionally one meets a person whom understands the nuances of good conversation, and they are the type of individual that are always remembered; because they not only can spin a good yarn, but can listen intently for hours, despite the fact that the talker is a bore.
Like any art form, however, it takes practice and more practice like learning the violin or pole vaulting.
Conversation is a lost art that one hopes will return once again.
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