Minimum requisite conversation

[robinbloke]

Conversation is an important thing, it's the basic fundamental of all communication between humans, it allows information exchange, helps develop bonds, relationships and much more.
The business world (supposedly) thrives on communication and as such develops and refines it, or in the case of marketing debases it - words such as 'empowers' make me shudder.
One such important conversation type in the world of business is the fly by conversation, the brief morning chat you have as you walk past a semi-known co-worker in the corridor who is going the other way; such conversations are normally limited to the following
A: Morning.
B: Morning.
Now you might think that such conversation is pretty limited, but there is a lot of scope even with these two words here (before we get into advanced stuff) to express more.
A: Morning.
B: Morning. (Assertively)
Here just varying the pitch and tone of your reply can indicate a whole new level of conversation, indicating not only you have successfully countered their basic grasp of this important conversation type but you have reached the second level of it's understanding and injected additional meaning into it. In short you have trumped them.
Now, should you meet someone who has already reached level 2 of this, what then?
A: Morning.
B: (a nod, a brief pause) Morning. (With conformational meaning)
Here B has double trumped A, not only have they seen A's intoned greeting and responded, but they have added an additional pause to indicate contemplation but a nod to indicate acknowledgement and that a greeting will follow after they have considered this. A is clearly outclassed here.
All this in the space of around three seconds.
Now we move onto fly by conversation grad school; beyond the realms of 'Morning'
A: (nod, eye contact) Morning.
B: (briskly) Indeed!
Now where does that leave A? Completely outclassed. Not only are they unsure of exactly the meaning of the returned greeting, but B has jumped into a whole new world of conversation that is beyond the ken of A - they have a lot of studying to do.
At this level of fly by conversation you can start to truly inject some of your own personality into your reply as well as implications and meaning, wild cards among you may feel at this point you may be ready for the highly advanced custom replies, beyond the recommended...
"Indeed", "Afternoon", "Alright.", etc.
"Alright." is a particularly impressive greeting, it simultaneously greets, indicates current state, inquires as to the well-being of the other and/or supplies a confirmation as to your own state of being. It is advised that you use this one sparingly so as not to imply that you are using it frivolously.
"Afternoon" can be a trap unto itself, it should be used extremely carefully, certain people are somewhat asleep in the morning and if you can catch them before their first coffee the result can be devastating...
A: Afternoon! (brightly)
B: (long pause, passing the crucial three step maximum for a reply) Afternoon? (inquiringly)
B has clearly indicated here that not only are they not awake, barely aware of what time it is and desperately in need of coffee, they are likely also barely aware of who or where they are. One of the only effective counters to this is as follows...
A: Afternoon! (brightly)
B: (very brief pause, just enough to indicate disapproval) Indeed. (sincerely)
A is now up a creek without a certain implement, B has called their bluff and also implied with their reply that they are much more aware than A of their current situation, they have also deigned to reply with any information regarding their state. B is giving A a mental slap, "You need more coffee, I am quite awake." they are saying.

Fly by conversation is an interesting form of conversation, there are many levels and nuances to it's use. I hope this introductory guide has wetted your appetite to study further into this field, there are many courses available that can help you hone your skills.

Comments

*Slight Pause*

[sherbetsaucers.livejournal.com]

Indeed.

[twentypence.livejournal.com]

A: Afternoon! (brightly)
B: (long pause, passing the crucial three step maximum for a reply) Afternoon? (inquiringly)

This conversation could also be replicated with the classic
A: Morning.
B: Afternoon.
See, doesn't even need any kind of tone to be added to it to effectively tell you that not only is A not fully awake, but also that B is bored, and had been keeping a close eye on their clock.

Of course, the advanced version of this conversation would involve usage of neither morning or afternoon, but instead the highly interpretable evening, which can be used as either a greeting or a farewell, thusly opening up a whole host of possibilities.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Although I usually just respond with *random* to indicate my refusal to play these conversational one-upmanship games.