Somewhere in this cultural morass I am convinced the zest for human contact will preserve the qualities that Plato and Plutarch, Johnson and Hume identified as essential for a civilised life, qualities of politeness, listening and courtesy. Those obsessed with faddish connectivity and personal avoidance are not escaping reality. They are not TS Eliot's misanthropic Prufrock, "a pair of ragged claws / Scuttling across the floors of silent seas". Deep down they still crave friendship. They just want a better class of talk.
With that in mind, my editor has asked me to offer up a few practical suggestions and conversational cautions.
How to open a good conversation:
1) Immediately show an interest in the other person.
2) Try to extract an opinion of some sort, and reasons for it. Never disagree with it openly, but try to construct a dialogue based on it.
3) Never ask intimate questions, unless invited to do so.
4) Always be the one to change the subject if the going gets rough.
5) Try to leave the conversation in good repair should it be interrupted.
Five of the worst conversational openings:
1) You must be very busy these days.
2) Do you live round here?
3) Do you have any children?
4) Will it never stop raining?
5) Gosh, this party is boring.
【重点单词及短语】