About Ben Casnocha:

Ben Casnocha is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and executive in Silicon Valley. He is coauthor with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman of the recent New York Times bestseller The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age, which has become one of the most sought-after management frameworks on how to recruit, manage, and retain entrepreneurial employees. He is also co-author with Reid of The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career, the bestselling guide to the new world of work. 

Good conversation is one of life’s pleasures.

Some people are better conversationalists than others. What skills or techniques do they employ? Stan James and I have been interested in this question for a long time and first discussed it in Costa Rica last summer. We came up with a grab bag of do’s and don’ts for in-person conversations (not email or phone). Your additions?

Don’t selfishly hijack. This is the most annoying habit of bad conversationalists. You say, “I met some really interesting people at that conference.” He says, “Really? I met nobody interesting.” Or, you say, “My classes are all terrific.” She says, “Really? Mine suck.” In other words, whatever you say he takes as an invitation to share his personal experience / opinion instead of probing on your statement or at least clarifying or re-phrasing it. Once you start watching for this you see it all the time. Don’t be that guy. Don’t hijack conversations to bring it back to yourself. Wait your turn. Be interested in the other person.

Answer questions at the appropriate level of detail. If you’re in a job interview and the potential employer asks about your last job, you will offer detail. If you’re at a cocktail party and someone you don’t know asks the same question, the appropriate (initial) answer calls for very little detail. Too many people deploy the same answer to common questions without customizing it to the particular conversation.

In groups, avoid topics that not all can follow. Pursue topics common to all participants.

Don’t try too long to remember something. To use a technical term, “time-out” after a 10 seconds. Don’t make everyone wait as you try to remember the name of that book you were reading (“Gosh what was its name, I know it, it’s, it’s, it’s, gosh let me think…”). Drop it and move on. It will come to you later.

Fidelity to an objective isn’t always necessary. Some business meetings call for strict adherence to an agenda. But many of the best conversations follow new and unknown directions. The joy is in the journey.

Be self-aware about self-interruptions. Meanderings and tangents contribute to the wonderful spontaneity of conversations. Just announce your intention to pursue an off-point before doing so. E.g., “Ok, I want to come back to this, but let me tell you a quick related story…”

Feel free to shift gears quickly. After you’ve plumbed the depths of a topic, move on, even if it’s abrupt. Not every new statement needs to iteratively build on the prior one. For example, you talk about business ideas with your conversation partner, there’s a pause, and then you say, “Ok, changing topics, how’s your family?”

Recognize “just need to be heard” conversations. These are unique conversations between friends or romantic partners. One party just wants to feel heard, not engage in debate or discussion. The best thing you can do is listen really well. E.g., she says, “I feel like nobody at work appreciates me. I’m there ten hours a day and I hardly ever get a thank-you.” You say, “Yeah. So you’re saying nobody at the office is giving you love?”

The Traffic Light rule of communication. “During the first 30 seconds of an utterance, your light is green. That means your listener is listening and not thinking you talk too much. During the next 30 seconds, your light is yellow. That means the risk is increasing that your listener is bored, overwhelmed, or dying to respond. After the one-minute mark, your light is red. Yes, occasionally, you can go beyond a minute, for example, when telling an interesting story, but generally you should stop or ask a question.”

Be okay with silence. Don’t rush to fill silence in a conversation. Some people particularly need silent time to think and reflect, if only for a moment. And wasn’t it Aristotle who said that true friendship is when silence between two people is comfortable?

Recognize people who are “getting in line” in the conversation. Notice people who tried to say something but got cut off. Notice people “raising their hand” to speak but haven’t been able to say their two cents. Circle back to them.

Taking notes during the conversation. I’ve blogged about the pros and cons of taking notes during a one-on-one conversation. Pros: you remember what was talked about and show respect for the other person’s ideas. Cons: can overly formalize the interaction and create a weird status dynamic if only one person is scribbling.

Don’t deploy conversation-stopping phrases. “It’s complicated” or “But here’s a counterexample!” or “Correlation doesn’t equal causation!”

Tell stories. Communication experts the world over agree that stories are the most effective way to convey ideas. Here are some tips on how to tell a good story.

Listen well. Listening skills deserves a post of its own. Suffice to say here that being an active, respectful, genuine listener will energize your conversation partner(s), and lead to a higher overall quality conversation. One way to improve on this front is to talk with good listeners (you know who they are because when you talk to them you feel heard). Notice their habits.

Recognize when the conversation is over. If you start talking about the stuff you started off with, it’s sign you’re looping back and nearing the end. If your partner seems to be disengaging (for example his eyes start wandering), take this as a cue. In any event, respect everyone’s time and proactively bring a conversation to a close by saying, “This has been lots of fun. We should probably get going. But I really enjoyed it – thanks.”

To Learn more about Ben contact [email protected]

Derek Sweeney is the Director of Speaker Ideas at The Sweeney Agency. www.thesweeneyagency.com. For 15 years Derek has been helping clients find the right Speakers for their events. Derek can be reached at 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected]