Why Deep, Meaningful Conversations Are Important

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There are signs that both on personal and organizational levels having in-person meaningful, deep conversations have declined. Some have attributed it to the forceable isolation occasioned by the COVID pandemic, and some have pointed to the increased use of digital communication devices which long preceded the pandemic. So too, has increased political polarization and tribalism meant that having meaningful deep conversations with others, particularly strangers, are less valued and entered into.

In my thirty plus years of training and coaching leaders, I’ve been struck by an often ignored important aspect of good leadership: the art of having meaningful conversations. I’m not referred to the typical one-on-one conversation between a leader and an subordinate or colleague that is specific task focused, or superficial, but rather, a deep conversation that touches upon the mental and emotional states of the other.

The Personal Conversation with Strangers

A 2014 study by Nicholas Eply and Juliana Schroeder published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found in nine new studies involving people on trains, planes, taxis and waiting rooms that although our instinct is to ignore strangers, we are happier when we chat to them. Importantly, this was true for introverts as well as…