on the “art of conversation”

Been meeting so many different people lately I’m getting a bit jaded.. it’s both tiring and twistedly fascinating at the same time. I think I understand better now the “art of conversation” (if it exists at all). The faces and names differ but there is a common pattern to it all, game-like almost. You become more perceptive to little things like body language and pick up on certain words and phrases which betray more than the speaker would like to. With a bit of focus, I find that it is actually possible to manipulate the course of conversation, dropping prompts that you know result in certain trajectories, based on past experience.

It’s sickening. Everything becomes so articial and manufactured. I really don’t know how politicians cope with this. They float from meetings to luncheons, conferences, dinners and parties – meeting so many people, it is simply impossible to register the content of every conversation. Inevitably, only impressions remain, framing the general sentiment and flow of the conversation..

From now onwards, I will try my best to avoid being sucked into this game. I want to enjoy the company of those around me, to discover and share in a part of their lives. To genuinely connect. To listen. To understand. To feel.

Perhaps it is only necessary then that I cut back and consolidate. This lifestyle is totally unacceptable. Some difficult decisions will have to be made   So help me God