Dinner Table Discussions

Several months ago Dave and I went to a wine tasting event a few blocks from our condo and ran into a neighbor with his girlfriend.  As I had not yet met his girlfriend, I introduced myself and we began to have a lovely conversation.  Over the course of the next hour, we discussed travel, food, and our experiences growing up in different parts of the country.  Never once did we discuss work and never once did it occur to me to bring it up.  Later that evening, as I was packing for a weekend trip, I realized I had not asked her what she did for a living.  It seemed strange at first and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had carried on a lengthy conversation with someone I didn’t even know, fully engaged, and walked away having gained a new perspective from a person who, for all I knew, could have been a touring ventriloquist!  What a strange but intriguing interaction! Would I have had a better conversation with her had I known her career?  Or, would I have had some amazing insight into her as a human being had I known she was a waitress or a doctor or a stay at home mom? I really don’t think so.  

Maybe we are going about this conversation thing all wrong.  Perhaps we’ve just become accustomed to discussing work all of the time, but truthfully, is that the way to live?  When there are so many things to talk about, why not discuss some of those “off” topics at times.  While everyone else is lamenting about workload or horrible bosses or annoying co-workers, how about bringing up the new restaurant downtown or a funny personal anecdote or thoughts about future or past travels?  While difficult, I’ve been consciously trying to steer my conversations away from the predictable and on to more interesting and fresh topics.  Likewise, try having a conversation with someone new without discussing career, or weather, or any of those predictable topics.  See where it takes you.  Maybe it will be the best conversation of your life!