The Art of Conversation

It takes courage to start a conversation. But if we don’t start talking to one another, nothing will change. A conversation is a way we discover how to transform our world, together.

> The art of conversation by René Magritte, 1963

Debate and conversation are keys for new ideas and interventions to problems in our realities. I do believe that conversation is one of the most important ways to get things out of the mind and see if it makes sense. For instance, you need to don’t be afraid to share, and that requires you to get out of your comfort zone.

In a conversation there are only two possible outcomes: or you prove you are right or you learn something you did not think. That is a quote commonly said by the Brazilian philosopher Mário Sergio Cortella and I totally agree with his thinking. In that sense, many people are afraid to share or speak because they think of being wrong as a signal of failure, which is not true. Being wrong or sharing something that you appear to be useless is needed as part of the process of creating, innovating, and learning. As a whole, we are so worried about saying something that matters and that it is correct that we end by just thinking 90% of the time how to say what we want to say instead of just saying something you think can contribute to the discussion.

I can specifically remember a deep conversation I had with a group of friends inside of my high school’s campus. We were talking about the importance of technologies and operational systems and each of us was trying to defend the best technologies for us. At some point in the conversation transformed into a kind of conflict which any of us was almost pissed off almost getting out of the table. At this moment one of our friends who were not from the field of computing as we were stopped the flow we were into and just said something that changed our behavior and, at least for me, my way of thinking. “All technologies are great, you just need to select one that you can solve the problem in an easier way”, she said.

If that friend had never decided to speak out loud I am certain we probably would not be friends anymore. The discussion was very deep but due to our emotions (which is not bad at all) we stop listening to others’ opinions and our long friendship almost came to an end. Therefore, that is just one example of how important and decisive can a person’s speech change not only the instantaneous direction of a conversation but also its future outcomes. This thought can be applied in conversations ranging from friends to business.

Therefore, a conversation is a way to get the point of view of others and merge with yours. Point of view which is a view from a point depends on your position it and if we have more people with different angles looking into the same point we are going to have a broader understanding of the topic. A point that appears to be extremely useless for you can change the way another person thinks and, maybe, solve a big problem that no one could ever tackle. To sum up, the important step is not to be right all the time but to be aware of your surroundings and truly listen to the points of view. That is, for me, one of the most important keys for innovation and human-centered development.