A lively group discussion, an intimate tête-à-tête, an inner monologue — in your view, when it comes to a good conversation, what’s the ideal number of people?

What’s the ideal number of people for a good conversation? I honestly don’t think the number of people matters when it comes to having a good conversation. Although having a larger group can make the conversation more colorful due to differences in opinions, there are pros and cons attached to this. Sometimes some people get really personal and take things seriously that it leads to misunderstandings or worst – a fight. Personally, I prefer a smaller group as it gives you the chance to really have a meaningful conversation with each other.

There are also factors that can affect our conversations with other people such as language barrier, age, situation and the level of our relationship with them. We are usually more open to family and closest friends, therefore our conversations with them are always more meaningful than others who are not in our inner circle but it doesn’t mean that we aren’t capable of having a meaningful conversation with those who aren’t as close with us. As a matter of fact sometimes we meet people who we instantly connect with where it feels like we’ve known them for a long time and we end up having one of the best conversations in our life. Then there are also those who are more reserve even if they’ve known us for a long time. So I guess you can say that  someone’s personality is another factor that can affect a good conversation.

*DP