Conversation

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...

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...

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...

"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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

_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...

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...

_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...

_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...

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...

_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...

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...

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...

_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...

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

_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...

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

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...

_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...