The art of conversation

Some think we have lost the art of conversation. But maybe we never had it.

The writer Ed Welch thinks many conversations are, in reality, nothing more than alternating monologues.

So, a friend mentions their recent holiday to Spain. That prompts us to reminisce about a visit to Barcelona when we couldn’t get into the cathedral. Which triggers the other person to tell us how expensive it was visiting Canterbury Cathedral recently. And since Canterbury was where we used to watch Kent play cricket, we set off on a tale about deckchairs and ice creams and collecting Alan Knott’s signature. And so it goes on – alternating monologues where neither party really engages with the other or says anything likely to encourage, inspire, edify or equip.