Conversation / What to Say and How to Say it

Without the personal interest in the affairs of others which makes gossip possible, there would be no fellowship or warmth in life; social intercourse and conversation would be inhuman and lifeless.

most learned and cultivated talkers do not attempt the difficult and unrewarded feat of giving a concise summary of plots.

there are three kinds of a bore: the person who tells the plot of a play, the one who tells the story of a novel, and the one who tells his dreams. This may be going too far with regard to dreams; for dreams, if handled in the right way, are easily made a part of interesting talk.

"Ye powers who rule the tongue, if such there are, And make colloquial happiness your care, Preserve me from the thing I dread and hate-- A duel in the form of a debate."

Conversation is the interchange of ideas;

he aim and design of conversation is, therefore, pleasure. This agreed, we can determine its elements. Conversation, above all, is dialog, not monolog. It is a partnership, not an individual affair. It is listening as well as talking.

This leads us, then, to the conclusion that the aim of conversation is to distract, to interest, to amuse; not to teach nor to be taught, unless incidentally.

one should first determine: What is the aim of conversation?

Conversation at its highest is the most delightful of intellectual stimulants; at its lowest the most deadening to intellect.

"Whosoever seeketh must know that which he seeketh for in a general notion, else how shall he know it when he hath found it?"