What Makes for Good Conversation?

I think the most important quality in good conversation is excitement. If you're not excited about what you're talking about, obviously, you're not going to want to contribute to its converstaion. I would want to be caught in a conversation about physics - it's boring, and I don't understand it at all (Not for lack of trying, though! I used to want to be a meteorologist... until I took physics).
That's part of why I like AmCon. Obviously, we all chose to partake in this conversation because we were all excited about it.

Another important aspect that we mentioned in class is preparation.
I have to admit, I wasn't entirely prepared for class discussion yesterday. Some days, I just don't have time to do every reading closely. I had a Greek quiz at 8am that morning (not the best way to start out a week...), and spent most of Sunday studying for it. I wasn't able to do any more than skim the readings and was therefore ill-prepared.
I'm really sorry about that.

Another thing I think is important is to be arguing for the correct point of view.
Clara mentioned yesterday how it was actually helpful for her to try and argue for the opposite of what she believed, as it helped her to understand both sides better. I respect that. However, I find it rather difficult for me to do so.
My favorite discussion set up that we've had in AmCon was towards the beginning of the semester (I think I blogged about it), when we had the fishbowl discussion where we chose one point or the other to argue.

Those are my thoughts on discussion.