Category: How To ...

Conversation

PAGE What is the aim of conversation?--The talk of Coleridge and Macaulay--Browning's delightful conversation--Why we go into society--The elements of good conversation--What it is not--Genius and scholarship not essential to good conversation 21

Chapters

12. Chapter 12

Many people object to discussion, but they are invariably those on the midway rounds of the conversational ladder; people to whom the joy of the amicable intellectual tussle is...

20. Chapter 20

Interruption, more surely than anything else, kills conversation. The effusive talker who, in spite of his facility for words, is in no sense a conversationalist, refuses to rec...

14. Chapter 14

It seems strange that, in all the long list of brilliant dissertations on every subject under the sun, no English essayist should have yielded a word under the seductive title o...

16. Chapter 16

"Good talk is not to be had for the asking. Humors must first be accorded in a kind of overture for prolog; hour, company, and circumstances be suited; and then at a fit junctur...

18. Chapter 18

Sydney Smith, by all accounts a great master of the social art, said of himself: "There is one talent I think I have to a remarkable degree: there are substances in nature calle...

24. Chapter 24

Good conversation, then, is like a well-played game of whist. Each has to give and take; each has to deal regularly round to all the players; to signal and respond to signals; t...

10. Chapter 10

Good conversation is more easily defined by what it is not than by what it is. To come to any conclusions on this subject, one should first determine: What is the aim of convers...

22. Chapter 22

There is an aspect of business words which has to do with social tact. "The social tact of business words" sounds incongruous on first thought. Business is largely force, to be...

3. Chapter 3

Gossip in literature--Gossip comes from being of one kindred under God--Gossip and the misanthrope--Personal history of people we know and people we don't know--Gossip of books...

8. Chapter 8

Conversation is reciprocal--Good conversationalists cannot talk to the best advantage without confederates--As in whist it is the combination which effects what a single whist-p...

13. Chapter 13

_Gossip in Literature--Gossip Comes from Being of One Kindred Under God--Gossip and the Misanthrope--Personal History of People We Know and People We Don't Know--Gossip of Books...

5. Chapter 5

The amalgam for combining guests--Hosts' talk during the quarter of an hour before dinner--Seating guests to enhance conversation--Number of guests for the best conversation--Di...

23. Chapter 23

_Conversation Is Reciprocal--Good Conversationalists Cannot Talk to the Best Advantage without Confederates--As in Whist, It Is the Combination Which Effects What a Single Whist...

17. Chapter 17

_The Amalgam for Combining Guests--Hosts' Talk During the Quarter of an Hour before Dinner--Seating Guests to Enhance Conversation--Number of Guests for the Best Conversation--D...

7. Chapter 7

Why cultivating the social instinct adds strength to business persuasion--Secret of the ability to use tactful and vivid words in business--Essential training necessary to the n...

21. Chapter 21

_Why Cultivating the Social Instinct Adds Strength to Business Persuasion--Secret of the Ability to Use Tactful and Vivid Words in Business--Essential Training Necessary to the...

1. Chapter 1

PAGE What is the aim of conversation?--The talk of Coleridge and Macaulay--Browning's delightful conversation--Why we go into society--The elements of good conversation--What it...

4. Chapter 4

Guests' talk during the quarter of an hour before dinner--What guests may talk about--Talking to one's dinner-companion--Guests' duty to host and hostess--The dominant note in t...

9. Chapter 9

_What Is the Aim of Conversation?--The Talk of Coleridge and Macaulay--Browning's Delightful Conversation--Why We Go into Society--The Elements of Good Conversation--What It Is...

6. Chapter 6

Its deadening effect on conversation--Habitual interruption--Nervous interruption--Glib talkers--Interrupting by over-accuracy--Interruptions outside the conversation-circle--Ch...

15. Chapter 15

_Guests' Talk During the Quarter of an Hour before Dinner--What Guests May Talk About--Talking to One's Dinner-Companion--Guests' Duty to Host and Hostess--The Dominant Note in...

19. Chapter 19

_Its Deadening Effect on Conversation--Habitual Interruption--Nervous Interruption--Glib Talkers--Interrupting by Over-Accuracy--Interruptions Outside the Conversation-Circle--C...

2. Chapter 2

Dr. Johnson's and Robert Louis Stevenson's opinion of discussion--Politeness and discussion--The hostess in discussion--Flat contradiction in discussion--Polemical squabbles--Br...

11. Chapter 11

_Dr. Johnson's and Robert Louis Stevenson's Opinion of Discussion--Politeness and Discussion--The Hostess in Discussion--Flat Contradiction in Discussion--Polemical Squabbles--B...