The Purposes of Conversation Real conversation serves one or more purposes

Real conversation serves one or more purposes.

In The Patterns of Effective Conversation, Dave Pollard lists ten generic purposes of conversation.

The list below is an adaptation of his list, in which I have modified or expanded some of the descriptions and added additional items:

Real conversation serves one or more of the following purposes:

1. Information: to obtain, surface, or convey information or understanding of facts (know-what), processes (know-how), or contacts (know-who). To learn from each other.
2. Sense-making: to make sense of something (beyond just obtaining facts), especially a complex issue.
3. Perspectives or viewpoints: to obtain different points of view or gain consensus
4. Change: to challenge and shift someone’s viewpoint or intentions (mine or others’)
5. Ideas: to generate ideas, surface and imagine possibilities
6. Collaboration: to enable the effective production of some shared work-product
7. Deepening or creation of relationships: to connect with other people, to build relationships
8. Entertainment or fun: to have fun, banter, gossip, flirt
9. Recognition, attention, or reputation: to obtain it or offer it
10. Appreciation, empathy, or reassurance: to get it or offer it
11. Decision making: to make decisions
12. Problem-solving: to solve problems or figure out how best to respond to them
13. Reveal problems: to reveal hidden issues or unintended consequences of our actions
14. Search for opportunities: to search for opportunities.

Posts that link to this post

•  Designing Powerful Questions Questions open the door to dialogue and discovery
•  Conversational Capacities Prerequisites to a good conversation
•  Meetings and Conversations Serve Two Purposes There is a second purpose to any meeting which we often overlook
•  Conversational Leadership Framework ** A framework to help understand the concept

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