You all know this person. You’re at a party or you’re just hanging out with a group of people, and there’s always that one person who waves a big red flag in the middle of a great conversation and causes the conversation to go in an entirely different direction.

This person is what I call “the conversation killer.” The conversation killer can’t just kick back and listen, and only join in when they have something to add to the current topic of conversation.

They are the person who gets annoyed because the conversation is not going their way or because they have nothing to contribute to the current topic of conversation. They always want to be able to say something during a conversation or control a conversation, and if they can’t then they will kill that conversation.

You see it all the time when you go out. You see the conversation killer strike, and then usually the entire group disburses. Yes, they all leave because they realize that they around the person who doesn’t pay attention to what other people say and who needs to be the center of attention.

A Great Conversation

Some of the best conversations I’ve ever had are ones in which I was just the listener. When you don’t know something and you can’t contribute, it’s fantastic to listen. The more you listen in life, the more you learn in life — and the more you will be able to contribute to future conversations.

So the next time you’re in a conversation that’s not swinging in your direction, listen, learn, and embrace the subject matter. If you do that, then the next time that same subject comes up in a conversation, you’ll be really glad you listened.