The Art of Conversation

My Boyfriend can start a conversation with anybody. Well, almost. What's the secret? It's not because he's a big talker It's because he asks questions and listens to the answers.

We're all suckers for this. We all want to be heard.

This morning we were having breakfast at Steak 'n Shake, a place we'd never been before. A man across the way was busy with a pencil and paper. My Boyfriend said, "Oh, are you doing a crossword?"

This precipitated a half hour conversation. By the way, it wasn't a crossword, it was Sudoku.

We know a lot of stuff about this man, especially where he likes to eat.

The down side is that he knows nothing about us. He didn't ask us any questions or listen to the answers.

Too bad. It's the secret of relationship success.