Just finished reading Daniel Menaker,’s “A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Conversation,” and I’m not sure what to make of it. Recommended by a friend who’d read a review, I’m waiting for his assessment as well. There are a few good tidbits about how a conversation develops between people, the stages Survey, Discovery, Risks and Roles, which I found interesting and am now paying attention to when meeting new people, and observing my/our conversations. Menaker using an interesting technique of taping one of his own conversations with a friend/colleague (with their permission, of course!) and breaks it down into these component parts; that is somewhat fascinating. There’s some history on conversation that’s mildly interesting and he casts about quite a few stereotypes. Be interested to see what others think if they pick up the book.
In the meantime, I’ve had a lot of flying this month, so it gave me a chance to catch up on something even as a bit esoteric as this. Probably not for most except those most fascinated by the study of human interaction.
As usual, available on my favorite, half.com and amazon.com.
Tags: books, communications training, creativity, groups, growth, Leadership Development, learning, self development
