Conversation

"An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers."

A bore is a man who, when you ask him how he is, tells you.

"I often quote *myself.*others.*The Bible.* It adds spice to my conversation."

The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.

A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.

The problem with talking too fast is you may say something *you haven't thought of yet.*you regret.*stupid.*

I like to do my principal research in bars, where people are more likely to tell the truth or, at least, lie less convincingly than they do in briefings and books.

If other people are going to talk, conversation becomes impossible.

If you're too open-minded; your brains will fall out.

I haven't spoken to *my wife*The Queen*my daughter* in years. I didn't want to interrupt her."

"It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt."

"I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen."

Never miss a good chance to *shut up.*quote yourself.*quote Albert Einstein.*

Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.

"It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much."

"Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself."

The less people speak of their greatness, the more we think of it.

"From politics, it was an easy step to silence."

It was such a voice as icebergs might be supposed to use to speak to each other as they passed by night in the Arctic Sea.

Although there exist many thousand subjects for elegant conversation, there are persons who cannot meet a cripple without talking about feet.

Too much *agreement*wine*arguing* kills a chat.

Is it possible to cultivate the art of conversation when living in the country all the year round?

The fun of talk is to find what a man really thinks, and then contrast it with the enormous lies he has been telling all dinner, and, perhaps, all his life.

Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact.

How time flies when you's doin' all the talking.

No man would listen to you talk if he didn't know it was his turn next.

If you are ever at a loss to support a flagging conversation, introduce the subject of eating.

I've just spent an hour talking to Tallulah [Bankhead] for a few minutes.

There are two things in ordinary conversation which ordinary people dislike – information and wit.

The opposite of talking isn't listening. The opposite of talking is *waiting.*agreeing.*eating.*

No one really listens to anyone else, and if you try it for a while you'll see why.

He never knew what to say. If life was a party, he wasn't even in the kitchen.

God knows she had plenty of practice.

She never lets *ideas*anyone*me* interrupt the easy flow of her conversation.

"If one plays good music, people don't listen and if one plays bad music people don't talk."

"If one could only teach the English how to talk, and the Irish how to listen, society here would be quite civilized."