Conversation is an art. There were points in time where the upper class engaged in lots of it governed by elaborate rules of etiquette. And apparently there is a ‘well-known’ Cooperative Principle which states
“Make your contribution such as it is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.” -- ″Grice, Paul (1975). “Logic and conversation”. pp. 41–58.″
This could be used as a guide: For a pleasant conversation experience (OK, may not be everybodys goal) do not abruptly change topic but slowly steer toward your intended topic by using intermediate steps. This also reduces the Inferential Gap thus preparing the ground for your topic without needed to recourse to much once you start.
I don’t remember what we were talking about when this happened, but the three topics I wanted to raise were
How does one signal that they have a topic that they want to raise?
We’ve previously had discussion about getting good photos taken of us, can we open that discussion again?
Did anyone see that thing I wrote recently and does anyone have opinions about it?
If I were obeying traditional rules of ettiquette, and was attempting to steer gradually between these topics… I imagine the likely result is that I make some jumps that seem jarring to everyone else, and still fail to raise them all before I have to leave. And that’s if nobody else has an agenda.
I think the “steer gradually” thing works well if the goal of the conversation is just to pass the time pleasantly. It would be a disaster in a boardroom meeting. At least to me, LW meetups are neither of those, and it doesn’t seem obvious that adopting ettiquette wholesale from either situation would be optimal.
good photos of people are valuable and I would highly reccomend. In lieu of good photos taking skills, take lots of photos with a fancy camera on an automatic setting. (lots = 100+ per person)
In different poses, in different places, outdoors, indoors, looking at or away from the camera, pulling happy, normal or other expressions.
What do you mean—is the answer something other than “find a good portrait photographer”?
That still leaves the question of how you find a good portrait photographer.
It also useful to discuss issues about what to dress, what kind of background to use, how to get nice looking body language and in general what photos are appropriate for the occasion. Do I want to signal that I’m nice by smiling? Do I want to look more conservative?
That still leaves the question of how you find a good portrait photographer.
That’s a different question and the answer to it is likely to depend on the context (are you in a big city? do you have friends who are good photographers? etc.)
and in general what photos are appropriate for the occasion
Do you think there are universal answers to these questions?
Conversation is an art. There were points in time where the upper class engaged in lots of it governed by elaborate rules of etiquette. And apparently there is a ‘well-known’ Cooperative Principle which states
This could be used as a guide: For a pleasant conversation experience (OK, may not be everybodys goal) do not abruptly change topic but slowly steer toward your intended topic by using intermediate steps. This also reduces the Inferential Gap thus preparing the ground for your topic without needed to recourse to much once you start.
I don’t remember what we were talking about when this happened, but the three topics I wanted to raise were
How does one signal that they have a topic that they want to raise?
We’ve previously had discussion about getting good photos taken of us, can we open that discussion again?
Did anyone see that thing I wrote recently and does anyone have opinions about it?
If I were obeying traditional rules of ettiquette, and was attempting to steer gradually between these topics… I imagine the likely result is that I make some jumps that seem jarring to everyone else, and still fail to raise them all before I have to leave. And that’s if nobody else has an agenda.
I think the “steer gradually” thing works well if the goal of the conversation is just to pass the time pleasantly. It would be a disaster in a boardroom meeting. At least to me, LW meetups are neither of those, and it doesn’t seem obvious that adopting ettiquette wholesale from either situation would be optimal.
good photos of people are valuable and I would highly reccomend. In lieu of good photos taking skills, take lots of photos with a fancy camera on an automatic setting. (lots = 100+ per person)
In different poses, in different places, outdoors, indoors, looking at or away from the camera, pulling happy, normal or other expressions.
some relevant information: http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/the-4-big-myths-of-profile-pictures/
What do you mean—is the answer something other than “find a good portrait photographer”?
That still leaves the question of how you find a good portrait photographer.
It also useful to discuss issues about what to dress, what kind of background to use, how to get nice looking body language and in general what photos are appropriate for the occasion. Do I want to signal that I’m nice by smiling? Do I want to look more conservative?
That’s a different question and the answer to it is likely to depend on the context (are you in a big city? do you have friends who are good photographers? etc.)
Do you think there are universal answers to these questions?