Oftentimes when I’m nervous, espescially if I’m meeting someone who I greatly admire I will find that I talk too much and don’t listen enough. This has happened to me infrequently during my career as a journalist, particularly when I interviewed Debra Winger, Vince Vaughan/Jon Favreau, Michael Chabon (a couple months before he won the Pulitzer) and Salman Rushdie. They were still good interviews, but when I re-read them I know they could have been much better if I had not been so nervous and talked so darn much.
Here is what Twain said about conversations,”A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.”
And here is another quote on conversations, “The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation that you ever had.”
My challenge to you whether you’re a famous author, plumber, teacher, juggler or banker is to reinvigorate your adjectives and then imagine you’re sitting on a porch swing with a friend and say less than you’re thinking and listen more to what your friend is saying.
Anyone can always say more, but is more really best?
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