Adam Mastroianni has a lot of experience in live improv. He's also studied what makes good conversation at the grad school level. He sees a lot of parallels in the two arts. He says that what ignites good conversations is the "social equivalent of doorknobs".
"When done well, he says, "both giving and taking create what psychologists call affordances: features of the environment that allow you to do something. Physical affordances are things like stairs and handles and benches. Conversational affordances are things like digressions and confessions and bold claims that beg for a rejoinder."
According to Mastrioanni, what matters most in a good conversation is not how much we give or take, but whether we offer and accept affordances.
Article: Good Conversations Have Lots of Doorknobs.
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