The Quality of a Conversation

The definition of a conversation is "an oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas" However, there are so many factors that constitute a good conversation. In the TED talk, "10 ways to have a better conversation," Celeste Headlee introduces ten different ways to engage in a better conversation. Through her witty humor, she successfully demonstrates the importance of conversations, especially because controversial skills and etiquette play an important role in socialization.

Contacting others through smartphones seems to be the norm in this generation. Face-to-face conversations have decreased since the development of technology and it's important that we fix this problem by focusing when someone is speaking to you rather than simultaneously using your phone. Other strategies include encouraging people to avoid using personal experiences for comparison and to steer clear of arguments just because you disagree with someone's opinion. This will allow you to understand their point of view.

One of the most important rules to have a better conversation is to simply listen. As Stephen Covey said, "Most of us don't listen with the intent to understand. We listen with the intent to reply." As humans, we like to talk because it makes us feel like we are in control and that is the exact reason why it's difficult for some of us to listen to one another. It takes effort to listen to others also because we often get distracted by other conversations around us.

I always thought of myself as a good conversationalist, but I'm not.

-Kasey Aguspina