The Art of Conversation

Among other things, what distinguishes man from other animals is speech and language. The very fact of being man signifies speech and conversation. Conversation as a tool and vehicle of expression of ideas, emotions and experience is of great importance. It lessens pain and suffering, multiplies joy, enjoyment and exaltation and enriches experience. Man can best reveal his mind, intentions, ideas, purpose and personality through words of the mouth or talk. A man is known by his words and talk. A talk reveals a man’s inner being, his thoughts and emotions. A conversation also means participation, cooperation and interaction. This is the best means of communication and expression and also the oldest and the richest. Our oldest and most cherished religious and spiritual works were originally in the form of oral communication, conversation and dialogues. Conversation is essential for success, social interaction, business, learning and education. In a broader and general sense conversation is very comprehensive and includes a talk, lecture and public speech. A lecture or talk may be termed as an extension of conversation. In a conversation a talk is confined to two-three persons but in a speech or lecture it extends to many persons forming a large audience. Moreover, a speech is more or less a one way traffic. While conversation implies intimacy, informality, equal participation, warmth etc. A good and enjoyable conversation is an art in which both heart and mind are involved in an intimate way. It is polite, sweet, intelligent, enjoyable and close.

The art of conversation is essential for influencing people, making friends and achieving success. It can be cultivated and developed. It is a great boon which can be possessed by training, practice, patience and perseverance. One who acquires this art, his labours are fully rewarded. He is welcomed wherever he goes. People like his company and he can become a leader among equals. He will be acceptable and his reputation will acquire wings.

A good conversation is always interesting, polite, warm, relaxed natural, spontaneous, rhythmic and comfortable. A good talker and conversationalist can take his message across successfully, convince the other party and leave long lasting impression. To possess this art one has to be self confident. Self confidence carries conviction, acceptability and popularity. Success in conversation arises from confidence. To attain self confidence read as much as possible, acquire knowledge and then practice talking about it with your friends, neighbours, parents and groups of people around you. Life is full of opportunities to develop this skill. Get yourself involved in others and then get them involved in your sweet, polite, meaningful and relevant talk. There is nothing like practice. Practice makes a man perfect. Any topic is good enough to converse and practice. Make your talk interesting, informative and relevant. Attend lectures, talks and addresses of well known speakers. It will give you a lot of experience, confidence and material to talk about. Be positive, hopeful and always think of the best.

The more you talk with various people, the more you possess knowledge, experience and confidence. Exchange of ideas, experience, emotions, opinions and concepts is likely to prove a great asset in your life and career. Your conversation even with a poor shoemaker , bus conductor, illiterate farmer or an uneducated house helper would not go waste. But talk with a purpose, be conscious of your aim and object and never lose sight of what you want to achieve. Nothing should be half hearted and half bake. Never monopolise the conversation and allow others to speak. Never dictate terms but be friendly, funny, considerate, liberal and polite

10 TIPS TO END A CONVERSATION

1. I’d better get going.

2. I have to rush off now.

3. Let’s meet up again son, bye for now.

4. Let’s get together soon. Take care.

5. You have been amazing

6. It was wonderful to talk with you. I must be going

7. It was great to see you again.

8. Sorry I’ve gotta go

9. Its been good talking to you

10. I look forward seeing you again soon.

Conversation skills that you need

communication plays a very important role in human life. It helps in the exchange of information and knowledge, it helps in developing relationships, the bonding on which the human life dwells itself. Conversations are key to language development. Ideas and thoughts also find a way to enhance through conversations. They make learning easier when combined with perfect facial and body expressions.

how do you define conversation skills?

A perfect conversation is the one which “serves the intention” and “transfers the information” perfectly. People may define it differently, But for the most part, conversation skills include ability to initiate, sustain and end a conversation. You may have the best information, but how you share, matters a lot. And also Engagement- an attempt to perfectly involve others in the conversation, is important.

“Conversation skills refer to a collective set of skills needed to communicate effectively with another person”. Better skills allow to understand and comprehend better to every person in the conversation.

The pandemic which hit the world very badly is forcefully making people to isolate themselves, replacing in person conversations to Vedio calls. Obviously there is a difference when you talk to a person when he is in front of you and when you talk through a screen. But rise in social media popularity did this before pandemic. Conversations have been changed to texting. These all are taking important conversation skills away from people. Clearly avoiding screen is not a solution, but maintaining a balance is very important.

ways to improve conversation skills

LISTEN ACTIVELY: Listening shows that we are in the person and the topic of conversation. Listening is as vital as speaking since a conversation involves sharing which needs both giving and receiving end. Practice active listening by paying attention, Asking questions to clarify confusions and repeating the message or its summary back to the speaker.

LOOK FOR NONVERBAL CUES: Non verbal communication has importance exactly as the words person chooses to do conversation. For example, consider body language. Try to have a good eye contact with the person in front of you. By saying a good eye contact I mean, the eye contact shouldn’t be making the person uncomfortable. Nodding your head to show your agreement or disagreement also helps. Keeping yourself in a position that makes you hear them correctly will also help. And if you are the speaker, make sure the message you are sending is consistent both verbally and non verbally.

HAVE EMPATHY: When you are listening to other person, try to put yourself in his/her shoes. Try to understand their point of view. Use statements which shows that you are understanding. For example ” I can understand your situation”. This will help to build trust. Learn to “agree to disagree”. Respect them even if you disagree. Be polite throughout the conversation.

PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS: A person with strong conversation skill will absorb more from the conversation than the average person just by noticing extra details. This will help you have more accuracy in the information. Noticing the accent and the motive in the conversation will help in long term.

OFFER INTRESTING INSIGHTS: People with good conversation skills frequently yell you things you didn’t know and find interesting. Increase your knowledge by reading books, magazines and listening to podcasts. Observe how they are choosing words or expressing them. Be Honest when you don’t know, that will not make you anything lesser.

TALK SLOWLY: A good conversationalist often act as they have abundance of time. Don’t hurry or cut others sentences. Take your time while speaking and be confident. Try to take a time before what you say to just reflect on it. be thoughtful.

USE RIGHT WORDS: A well ability to communicate has a lot to do with the words you choose. Bad choice of words will create misunderstandings. Constantly work on your vocabulary and practice communicating accurately.

A good communication skill will help you regardless of the field you are going to be in. Develop these skills as soon as possible and shine on!