Hehe. I like that – steer around the rocks or head for the rapids ;)

Thanks for your comment! I'm glad it hit home for you – and whether you use
this specific topic, or something similar, hopefully it's given you some
useful ideas =)

I myself had a lot of fun with it!

Haha! I never thought about it in that way. To be fair, as I noted above,
everyone loves Seth Godin – though I can't say women have ever been
attracted to me as a result of my pontificating about Tribes. Or David
Allen, or weekly time budgets

Not that I know of anyway!

It's true, it is sort of about creating a connection, though to be honest I
came up with it quite selfishly just to avoid being bored with the same
conversations over and over ;). It was only later on that I saw the article
about deeper conversations making people happier and I thought a-ha! That's
a great introduction to this article I've been writing

=)

Thanks so much for your comment!

You know, that's a great point you bring up – by leading a conversation in a
specific direction, I definitely risk missing out on other tangents that we
could be going down. I don't know what a good solution is to that problem -
I don't mind having a conversation wander, as long as it goes somewhere =).
I just don't like small talk where the other person and I both try and keep
the chit chat on light topics until one of us (usually me) politely excuses
ourself =)

Thanks for your insights!

I like the parallel you've drawn between having a direction in conversation
and having a direction in personal development. I wonder if that's why this
approach is so appealing to me – I do enjoy having a specific direction I'm
going, and milestones to hit =)

Thanks for your comment!

LOL. I like how we've taken the discussion from small talk to inane crap
that arrives from mainstream media ;). I'm a fan of smart comedies as well,
though my one weakness is TED talks. They're like my video kryptonite. I
can't get enough of them!

Thanks for your comment! I myself am not a fan of small talk, but I do
enjoy light conversation – like you said, just talking for it's own sake
without any agenda can also be refreshing =)

You know that's interesting that you bring up interviews. My buddy Srinivas
Rao and I started this website, BlogcastFM and it's true – interviewing is
definitely a great skill to have, and it *is* a skill. It's not just about
reciting questions, like you said, you pay attention to what they're saying,
build a real connection – and ask follow up questions based on topics
they've brought up and can be explored.

Srinivas is much better at it than I am, he's a total natural.

Thanks for your comment! I love the way you put it – “deep discussion we
crave”

That's *exactly* how I feel! =)

Thanks so much for your comment! I appreciate you taking the time to let me
know your thoughts, even if we have slightly differing opinions

One are we're definitely in agreement is with being genuine – I think it's
really important not to pretend to be someone we're not, – and two, putting
some energy into it ;).

Thanks for your comment and really bringing something to the discussion =)

You know, I certainly see your point that it would absolutely be more
preferable to have it without a routine structure and have it just happen -
but as you said, sometimes we don't want to leave it to chance, especially
if we probably will never see some people again!

Thanks again!

I agree that small talk can sometimes be tedious but that is just the way things are so that you are both in a comfortable place to possibly start a meaningful conversation.

Have you thought that by leading the conversation you may in fact be missing something very interesting that might have happened if things were to run their natural course?

Also you can have the most interesting conversations in the world but if the other person finds out you have been leading the conversation do you not think that they would perhaps feel a bit cheated?

Thanks, Louise

When we have a goal within a conversation we can ask better questions and receive better answers.

Anyway, small talk, or conversation for its own sake, it can oftentimes be refreshing.