> then more or less passive listening until you change the subject. The goal of a conversation is not to get to a subject on which you can pontificate. Quite t

> then more or less passive listening until you change the subject. The goal of a conversation is not to get to a subject on which you can pontificate. Quite the opposite! And there are options other than passive listening and oration. What about that famous other kind of listening, active listening? The vast majority of conversation has either pedestrian ends, or no productive end at all. Whether you have something novel to say on a subject is one of the least important variables of all in a dialogue. The ability to ask questions, to seek a novel angle, to subtly flatter, are all far more important. For example, that's why Terry Gross is a genius. Not because she is deeply knowledge about physics, or oil painting, or acting. But because she knows how to talk to people about things she's less familiar with.