Psiri wrote:
As an academic exercise, I'd like to hear people's answers to this. Just a few sentences to sum up what you think. I find this surprisingly hard to answer.
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Different possible answers.
Entertainment.
In the world of business, conversation can be in the form of a 15 minute sales presentation designed to sign a new customer up for a product producing a commission for the salesperson because the product is useful and benefits the customer.
http://www.sellingpower.com/
http://www.dartnellcorp.com/
In the world of academia/the university, talking for hours is what professors do to earn their salaries. They are paid to talk. They are often paid to talk for fifty minutes, then be quiet.
They could deliver the content, in some cases, in five minutes or less but the rules are they must stretch it out to fifty minutes to get paid.
Conversations
Worthwhile
Waste of time
and so on.
If a person is skilled in conversation and can make persons from all walks of life feel comfortable, they can make a lot of money. Examples: Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, and so.
Conversations can establish moods. Example - Two words:
Vinegar vs Steak.