[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-49928-en":3,"doc-seo-49928-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":89},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":20,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},49928,687197207919,"Theodora","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/a000253d6f5f7c60be?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1779446848396160552",10,"Lifestyle","Have We Lost the Art of Conversation","Explores how modern communication habits—interruptions, monologues, and performative talk—erode listening, nuance, and connection, contributing to loneliness. Uses insights from clinical psychotherapist Dipti Tait, describing the reticular activating system as a conversational filter and presenting personality-based communication styles. Offers practical guidance for responding when others dominate, hijack ideas, or overwhelm with lists, emphasizing empathy, recognition, and creating a more satisfying, collaborative dialogue.","This incident was stacked on manyothers.Over the pastyear or so,I've beenconducting myown very unscientificsocialexperiment in the belief thatwe are losing the art of conversation.Whether it's performative point-scoringpeople talking over one another,orjust blanking,it feels that no one isreally listeningto one another anymoreand,with that,we are losing nuanceand enrichment in our lives,andcompounding feelings of isolation,even in the company of others.It'sno surprise that the World HealthOrganization has declared lonelinessa‘global public health concern'.It'sas though people are glitching.Themonologue seems to have taken hold.And this isn't helpedby social mediaproviding people with a platformto relay the minutiae of their skincareroutine,or the contents of their cerealbowl,without interruption or beingmet with bored expressions.  \nI've found I can bumpinto peopleand what should be aconversation turnsinto a recitation of tasks and timetables,the subtext being they are too busytochat.Once I've been talked throughthe AA Route Planner for an upcomingjourney or been given abreakdown ofthe ‘to-do'list,I feel guilty for being thesort ofperson who has time to stopfora  \nthinkers leaping onto the next thing ontheir minds,and the slower-paced onesweighing things up more.Tait talksabout people's style of communicationin literally colourfulterms:you're eitherversions of red,yellow,green and blue,set out in Thomas Erikson's book,SurroundedBy Idiots(Ebury,£10.99),onhow to dealwith different personalitytypes at work.'Ahigh yellow or a highred are really uncomfortable withpauses and silence,'says Tait.They'll bemore self-referencingin conversation.  \ncheck-in;people seem more at ease withtalking over others with all the subtletyof an out-of-control snowplough.Onseveral occasions,I've seen a friendinterrupted mid-story and marvelled attheircalm as they pause and then resumethe thread while Ifizzwith outrage.Themost blatant was when my husband wasopposite me at a dinner recently,seatedbetween two people who conducted aconversation over him,untilhe suggestedthey swap and sit togetherinstead.  \nI'll admit,I’m predisposed to a certainsensitivity surrounding this.As an onlychild,Igrew up observing and listeningto adults a lot.There was no siblingnoise to have to shout over to be heard.As a result,I’mone of life's listeners,witha radarsetto ensure no one feels excluded.In aworld where people conductconversations with their phones onspeaker in packed trains,I'm not exactlypining for a return to the conversationaletiquette befitting a Jane Austen novel-but I am concerned about this slowcrumbling,and how it's affecting theway we relate to each other.I ask clinicalpsychotherapist Dipti Tait for an insightinto my sense of unease...  \nTait explains that ourreticularactivating system,a bundle of nerves inour brain stem,acts as afilter.It's why,for example,ifsomeone is trying for  \nFrom our chat,Tait categorises me as ahigh blue,which has empathic,sensitive,emotionally intelligent traits.My styleis likely to be more collaborative.  \nTait notes that ifwe are able torecognise these traits in others,alongwith some oftheir more useful elements,it helps usto work towards a middleground in communication,and createa more satisfying experience.She showsme a Venn diagram illustrating this.For example,someone who may seemcritical,judgmental or intense in aconversation is actually someone whois also observant and paying attention.  \nSo how to deal with the more frequentscenario I’mencountering with peopletalking over each other or interrupting?Ahigh red or high yellow personalitycan tend to hijack an idea,not onpurpose,but because they're sofast-thinking that whatever someoneelse has just said they will quicklyadapt and make their own.It's not ascalculating as it can seem,'says Tait.Sheadvises that my temptation tointervenewith a 'Hang on,they were talking',could offend.Instead,she suggestsIimmediatelygo back to theperson whohas been interrupted,asking them to tellm","cbCait4LiQHRBvU0","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCait4LiQHRBvU0","pdf",1038996,2,1,"English","en",105,"# Losing nuance through monologue\n## Social media and the shift in conversational etiquette\n# Dipti Tait’s communication model\n## Reticular activating system and listening categories\n## Personality traits and Venn diagram insight\n# Practical ways to respond in conversations\n## When people interrupt or talk over you\n## When others deliver lists\n# Rebuilding connection through better listening","[{\"question\":\"Why does conversation feel less nuanced and more isolating?\",\"answer\":\"The text links it to people talking over one another, blanking, and not really listening anymore. It also connects these shifts to loneliness as a growing public health concern.\"},{\"question\":\"What does Dipti Tait say about how we process conversations?\",\"answer\":\"Tait explains that the reticular activating system acts as a filter in the brain stem. This filtering influences how people perceive and engage in what others say.\"},{\"question\":\"How should you respond if someone keeps interrupting or hijacking ideas?\",\"answer\":\"The text advises not to immediately correct them. Instead, direct attention back to the person who was interrupted and invite them to share more, signaling interest and giving them a platform.\"}]",1783578166,3,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":84,"head_meta":86,"extra_data":88,"updated_unix":27},"have-we-lost-the-art-of-conversation","",{"@graph":35,"@context":83},[36,51,66],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,46,48],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":47,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":28},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/lifestyle/",{"item":49,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/have-we-lost-the-art-of-conversation/49928/",4,{"url":49,"name":13,"@type":52,"author":53,"headline":13,"publisher":55,"fileFormat":58,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":59,"datePublished":60,"encodingFormat":58,"isAccessibleForFree":61,"interactionStatistic":62},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":54},"Person",{"url":40,"name":56,"@type":57},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-16","2026-07-09",true,{"@type":63,"interactionType":64,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":65},"ViewAction",{"@type":67,"mainEntity":68},"FAQPage",[69,75,79],{"name":70,"@type":71,"acceptedAnswer":72},"Why does conversation feel less nuanced and more isolating?","Question",{"text":73,"@type":74},"The text links it to people talking over one another, blanking, and not really listening anymore. It also connects these shifts to loneliness as a growing public health concern.","Answer",{"name":76,"@type":71,"acceptedAnswer":77},"What does Dipti Tait say about how we process conversations?",{"text":78,"@type":74},"Tait explains that the reticular activating system acts as a filter in the brain stem. This filtering influences how people perceive and engage in what others say.",{"name":80,"@type":71,"acceptedAnswer":81},"How should you respond if someone keeps interrupting or hijacking ideas?",{"text":82,"@type":74},"The text advises not to immediately correct them. 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