The Lost Art of Conversation
Fiction | Script | A Conversation Between Two Young Women
Amelia: Hey, how’s it going?
Britney: Good. And you? Hey did I tell you about this Italian guy that I met? Marco? Oh my God, he is so handsome.
Amelia: Aren’t they all? Did I ever tell you about my trip to Italy?
Britney: So yeah, he has this really adorable dog.
Amelia: Dog? Cool. You gotta visit Florence, you’ll love it.
Britney: I’m not sure which part of Italy he is from. I mean, he might have mentioned it…
Amelia: You know, I’ve always thought that I’m not into touristy places but Florence blew my mind.
Britney: Oh, it’s just the cutest thing ever. Let me show you.
Amelia: Ah, my sister has the same type of dog. Small-ish, short legs, yeah the same type.
Britney: A terrier?
Amelia: Not sure. I mean, she told me but I can’t remember what she said.
Britney: They all look the same anyway.
Amelia: So what are we having for lunch later?
Britney: How about pizza?
Amelia: Sure. Hey, do you know that they put curry powder on pizzas in Sweden?
Britney: No, that’s crazy but you know what, my Swedish friend just showed me a picture of a hamburger pizza recently.
Amelia: I mean curry should never be on a pizza. That’s just mad.
Britney: It’s like a whole hamburger, you know. It looks like the pizza ate it whole.
Amelia: I didn’t even know that curry is a thing in Sweden.
Britney: You know, pizza on its own is so unhealthy, but to top it off with a burger?
Amelia: I’ve always thought that only Indians eat curry. Oh well, what do I know? Italians would be so mad if they see it.
Britney: I’ll ask Marco what he thinks about it.
Amelia: Who’s Marco?
I have noticed that people don’t really know how to have decent conversations anymore. Most of the time, they do not even respond to what you are saying as they are merely waiting for you to finish talking before they start talking. Sometimes, you even see their lips moving ever so slightly as they get ready to jump in and say something if there is an opening (for example when you pause in the middle of your sentence).
What I dislike the most is when I am stuck in a “conversation” between two people such as Amelia and Britney in the story above. How am I suppose to listen and respond to two ongoing topics? However, most of the time, I do not even need to reply or acknowledge anything that is being said as they do not actually care. They are just having monologues while talking over one another.
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