Some time ago I had lunch with the chief executive of a well-known company in the City of London. He told me that every time he goes to a dinner party, he turns to the guests either side of him and offers unsolicited feedback on the quality of their conversation during the meal. So, he might tell someone that while he'd enjoyed listening to their views on the Chilcot inquiry, they could have made more eye contact and asked him a few questions. Or that, although he was interested to hear about the choice of schools for their children, they could have kept it briefer or been a little less boastful.
不久前，我與倫敦金融城某著名企業的首席執行官共進午餐。他告訴我，每次赴宴，他都會與鄰座客人攀談，并就他們在用餐期間的交談質量主動提供反饋。他可能會跟人家這樣說：雖然聽他們闡述對齊爾考特調查事件的看法很愉快，但他們本可以進行更多的眼神接觸，并提出一些問題；或者，雖然他有興趣聽他們說給自己的孩子選擇什么學校，但他們本可以講得再簡短一些，或者不要那么炫耀。