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CONVERSATIONS CAN ONLY TAKE PLACE BETWEEN EQUALS
So if conversations are such a big part of our ability to succeed, why are we so bad at them in business? Why have we professionalized our conversations to such an extent that we have forgotten how to speak normally to one another? Why do we have one conversation with our peers and another with our staff? Have we lost the art of conversation and if so how can we get it back?
David Weinberger’s insight that “conversations can only take place between equals” is key to what we are talking about here. So key that it deserves its own chapter. What I believe he is saying is that if two people are not prepared to see each other as equal, at least for the duration of their interaction with each other, then what they are having is not a conversation. If one of them is the boss, and acts like it, this is not a conversation – it is a broadcast. If the other is too scared to be open and say what they think – it is not a conversation. If one is aware of being superior in any way and is not interested in really listening – it is not a conversation. If one is a corporation and one is a customer – it is not a conversation. Given that we are saying that the Internet enables “globally distributed, near instant, person to person, conversations”, this matters.
These distinctions persist online. If one half of a conversation is a well known blogger with thousands of followers and the other is a newbie – and if they both act like it – this isn’t a ...
