BenTha'er-Horizons

Conversation

True Thoughts on Conversation

“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
-- Lady Dorothy Nevill,
British writer

A very accurate statement. One should consider whether what they say will advance the conversation or the understanding associated with the conversation. Will it achieve what you want or will it detract? Is it a “fly-by” just to be hurtful or at least unhelpful.
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Meeting Smarts

Some days I feel that I am hopeless at coming across intelligent in meetings. Maybe that fear will be no more. I found this bit of “wisdom” or humor about the “10 Tricks to Appear Smart During Meetings”. I can use all the help I can get. Check it out here.
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Brandolini's Law

So, from now on, it will be referred to the Brandolini’s law (a.k.a. the Bullshit Asymmetry Principle) which states that:

“The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.”

‘Nuff Said.
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Conversation In This Day

One thing I am most interested in is improving my ability to converse or communicate. Or at least to understand it. It shapes our relationships with others and can either make our life better or much worse with its use. Here is a recent article on conversation and some “rules of the road” to follow. One key principle is to focus on the other person.
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Best Sitcoms

Conversation can be a lifeline and lifeblood within our lives. One can learn so much about people and new ideas through stimulating conversation. Listen to the person next to you, don’t overlook them or dismiss them. A great way to get conversation going is to ask a “Who is” or a “What is” type of question. Certainly, I would imagine there would be a lot of discussion over what are the top 100 sitcom episodes of all time. Certainly, one writer has a list here. Number One on his list is a good one: Never Bathe on Saturday from the Dick Van Dyke show in 1965.

His Number Two is actually my favorite and part of a series that I saw in a British paper listing the top British comedies of all times--Fawlty Towers. The episode in question is titled, “Communication Problems”. I was dying laughing watching this the first time. Basil Fawlty’s interaction over “missing money” with an older woman with a hearing problem was superb. The other episode in their list from this series is “The Germans”. Bob and I still will look at each other and say, “Don’t mention Z-War!” We stayed in the late 1990s at the Lewtrenchard Inn in Devon England. There were two German men eating dinner in the hotel’s dining room who could substitute for the German men in this episode. Basil Fawlty brought it all in focus for us. Life is the basis for sitcoms, just look at Seinfeld.

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