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It is not a fault in company to talk much; but to continue it long is certainly one; for, if the majority of those who are got together be naturally silent or cautious, the conversation will flag, unless it be often renewed by one among them, who can start new subjects, provided he does not dwell upon them, that leave room for answers and replies. A really good conversationalist is the one who can renew the talk, "who can start new subjects." When a roomful of good conversationalists meet, the whole thing is so spontaneous that no one knows who started the subjects. But among most people who are mere acquaintances, not intimate daily companions, the one who can talk when no one does is the nugget in a bucket of stones. He can be, and deserves to be, the life of the party. But let him not try to be; let him merely try to get others to enjoy themselves. If that is his motive, his intuition is likely to hit upon those topics upon which others in the group can and would like to talk. The person who starts the talk for his own sparkling can be spotted in that he will pick on a pet interest of his in which no one there can share. However much the hostess and the others will have been grateful to the one who carried the conversational ball in that ' painful moment when no one else had anything to say, they |
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