Monday, March 05, 2007

The age of conversation


In my own blog, and in most of the others that i read, to open and to manage a conversation is a key issue.
Without a conversation there is no engagement, no share of information, no transfer of knowledge.
Without a conversation, we cannot learn to listen, to give qords their own meaning and not the one we would like them to have.
Without conversation the essence of blogging would be lost as well as the newest trend in a customer centric marketing.
But when we talk about conversation, we should know to whom pay tribute for having created the modern art of the dialogue.
This great book from Benedetta Craveri covers this topic, describing when, where and who was behind this fascinating art.


You can find the book here Amazon and here Barnes & Noble

In the early 17th century, conversation was the newest form of art in the French aristocratic circles. On personalities and gossip as well as on intellectual arguments, conversation came from several prominent women. The most prominent was the Marquise of Rambouillet, whose Blue Room was the most important circle.

Conversation had, at that time, the power to influence writers, their style, their themes.

Is it still true today?
Are we still able to have a conversation with friends, parents, customers?
Do we write as we talk or it is the opposite?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good post and great photo. It is all about conversation, isn't it? Does it seem to you as if too many of us are too busy to practice the art?

gianandrea said...

lewis, thanks for comment. my feeling is that too many of us (me included indeed) write in a business mode, which is in someway correct. but to start a real conversation, few more words or more story telling may help in building a dialogue.
the business purpose is achieved anyway, but enriched with details that may prove to be crucial to open our mind.

Tim Jackson said...

Conversation and dialog are so huge to me. Without it, I just feel so detached from reality and uninspired.

Thank you for facilitating great conversations here.

gianandrea said...

tim, i suppose that conversation is a key success factor in your job as well as identifying a common language with customers and prospects.

Toby said...

Your post caused me to pause and reflect .. in our world today (at least in the States) speed is honored. Talk is taken for granted. But "conversations" are a rare luxury. Perhaps social media will bring back some of that 17th century art.

Thank you for including Diva Marketing on your blog roll. It's an honor to be mentioned.

Unknown said...

G ... I love that photo. It reminds me of a Gabriel Garcia Lorca story. It is how I would like to share old age with my brother ... walking, talking and maybe even writing to each other.

Strangely, it makes me want to use pen and paper.

gianandrea said...

toby, thanks for joining this conversation. i would love if social media could bring back this art and i suppose in someway this is already going on. we can talk about marketing and social media in an articulated way, bringing back a cultural vision to generate a better yet profitable business.

gianandrea said...

gavin, this picture gives a great sense of a timeless spot. they probably talk about the latest novel read or about their sons and nephews. strangely i did write this post with paper and pen and not with the mac, and it was easier to put it on paper: probably because my brain is programmed old style. lately, i've been thinking a lot about the fact if we are still able to handwrite.