The lecture on conversation makes some good points. Most people wait for an opportunity to speak rather than listen to what the other person is saying. People use conversation to show off rather than share information. Showing off, by breaking into a conversation, presenting your views with confidence and even high-jacking another speaker’s views and claiming them as your own are successful strategies in business settings, I have observed. I have never seen anyone called out for this kind of rudeness, but I have seen them be rewarded through recognition, better assignments, and even promotions.
I don’t recall reading that fear is also a motivation in wresting a turn to speak, but I think that it is. People want to be noticed not just because they like the limelight, but because they’re afraid if they go unnoticed, they won’t get recognition and better assignments, etc. It would be a good thing, in my opinion, if the listening aspect of conversation were included in school curricula.
Having never mastered the art of conversation myself (I, too, am guilty of the sins cited in the Conversation lecture), I purchased How to Speak, How to Listen, by Mortimer J. Adler, a few years back. I recall that Adler makes the case for including listening in school curricula.
Post a Comment