This means that the fundamental aspect of genuine conversation is its open-ended character. There are no guarantees about outcome. There are no guarantees that if we just do this and this and this, then such and such will automatically result. When we talk about conversation we are talking about something that is creative at its core, and therefore open-ended. Conversation is conversation about the subject matter at hand.
Conversation is creative and therefore open-ended.
And what s more, conversation requires something of the parties to the conversation. If there is no willingness to be persuaded, we don t have conversation, we have negotiation. Friends, there are people who have never had a genuine conversation in their life. There are people with whom you don t converse, you only negotiate. If there is not a shared willingness to be persuaded, there can be no conversation.