The Do's and Don't's of Agreeable Conversation : Page 192

Only if people are gathered together specifically to discuss some particular topic should one definitely abstain from tactics for shifting the subject. Otherwise, even if a given topic still produces lively comment, it should be shifted. Every topic has its special proponents, who because of special interest will lead the talk about it. Were the same topic discussed all evening, the others in the group would never get a chance to do the leading. If enough topics pass in review, then in the course of the gathering everyone should have had the chance both to receive and to give out, to learn something new on one topic, and to tell others something new about another. Just as the stockmarket is a tussle between bulls and bears, so a good conversation ought to be a play between the followers and