Recently a friend reminded me of a scene she encountered on an evening out that got her to thinking about conversation and relationships.
We call the story the canoe conversation.
She was out to dinner by herself and she and an older couple were the only patrons in this Northwest-themed restaurant. Hanging from the ceiling was a canoe. As she ate, my friend watched the couple interacting. Little, if any, words were exchanged between the couple, probably a symptom of having spent years together. At one point, the male half of the couple turned his eyes to the ceiling and make an innocuous comment about the canoe hanging above he and his companion. While it was an attempt to keep conversation going, it showed, glaringly, that this was a conversation going nowhere.
Don’t have canoe conversations.
While we are out and about networking, it can sometimes be hard to continue a conversation. Don’t make conversation just to talk. If you feel your interaction with another going nowhere, excuse yourself. Be polite, but leave the space and move on to the next conversation. Unlike the couple below the boat who weren’t working hard at all to make things work between them, you have a choice.
Make it a good one and consider your fellow conversant and yourself. If the conversation is going nowhere, don’t go along for the ride. Either say something of substance or move on.
Canoe conversations can be deadly.
Relentless
