Improving Our Talking Life : Page 20

When anybody's method and manner clearly violated the recommendations set down in the subsequent chapters, it was easy to see why they were dull or irritating. But among people not obviously deficient, I could never conclusively put my finger on the precise factor that makes some people interesting to talk with and others not. I followed up every conceivable hypothesis. Now, if I have to commit myself, I say one finds a stranger uninspiring, even though well mannered, if he is narrow in his interests, if he has no enthusiastic interest in anything, and if he brings no new slant or special data on the topic or topics discussed. Conversely, one