The Dying Art of the Conversation

            With new technologies such cell phones and Instant Messaging through the Internet, there’s constant and instant conversation 24 hours and 7 days a week. Even though people’s conversation levels have increased, these conversations have become quicker and shallower. True, authentic face-to-face conversations have become a dying art in this day and age.
            What I mean by the art of the conversation involves the deepness level and length of the conversation. The majority of conversations do not actually delve deep and below the surface. Many conversations end up being about other famous people instead of a conversation about themselves or their beliefs as provided in the following example.
            I remember in being in one of my Sociology class concerning Corporations and Society in which I had a group discussion on some of the class readings involving social responsibility. After talking about some of the readings for about five minutes, the twenty year old female discussion leader asked the rest of the group of four guys, “What did you guys think of Britney Spears having her head shaved?” My first response is “Who cares?” Apparently, the tabloids and much of America cares since she’s in the public eye so much. More importantly, THIS SUBJECT IS BEING USED AS AN ICEBREAKER. THIS IS HOW CONVERSATIONS BEGIN. THE SUPERFICILAIITY KEEPS ON GROWING MORE AND MORE. Even for me as a guy, I use sports as an icebreaker. I start the conversation with “Did you see the game last night?” And if the other guy responds, “Yeah…” then I can start a conversation and eventually go on tangents that may lead to a deep, meaningful conversation. To me, one of the greatest joys in life involves having almost a non-stop conversation that lasts over an hour. A prerequisite for a great conversation involves a reciprocation of talking between both people.
            Honestly, the best conversations MUST be a One-on-One and Face-to-Face Conversation. The main problem with our society is that the majority of people do not go DEEP in their conversations since most people DO NOT KNOW WHO THEY TRULY ARE ON THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. I don’t place blame on individuals. Instead, I place the blame on media and societal images of beauty. You know…women have to look like stick figures while men have to beef up with muscles everywhere in their body as the ideal image/perception of beauty. As a result, the majority of people in our society are INSECURE due to unrealistic, societal expectations.
            Back to the art of the conversation…I think that most conversations begin like this: 1st person “How are you doing today?” 2nd person “GOOD.” 1st person “Okay, Well have a nice day.” 2nd  person “I see you later then.” The word GOOD has so many connotations to the word when used during the beginning of a conversation. Some of the connotations include: “I’m busy…Thanks for acknowledging me but I gotta go…I am not telling you how I really feel…I fell indifferent.” Basically, using the word “GOOD” is more of an actual impulse that an actual response. If someone says they are “tired, great, excellent, bored,” then that person has actually put some thought into conveying some sort of emotion.
            The best conversations have no boundaries and these conversations have great reciprocity between two people. More importantly, the conversation needs to be able to go deep/below the surface with human beings talking about faith, relationships, family/friends, and other important aspects of one’s life. If both people walk out the face-to-face conversation having a great feeling and prospective on life after talking for at least one hour, the TRUE ART OF THE CONVERSATION HAS BEEN ACHIEVED.