Becoming a Good Conversationalist: How Not to Bore, Boast, or Otherwise Blather . . . and More! – Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.
The Thomistic Institute
The Thomistic Institute
4.8 • 873 Ratings
🗓️ 20 April 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Fr. Gregory Pine argues that good conversation is a real moral and spiritual practice: it matters, takes time, and should be used to draw near to others through listening well, welcoming contributions, and sharing life rather than trying to win or dominate.
This lecture was given on March 4th, 2026, at Iowa State University.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.
About the Speakers:
Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., is an instructor of dogmatic and moral theology at the Dominican House of Studies and the Assistant Director of the Thomistic Institute. He holds a doctorate from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). He is the author of Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly and Your Eucharistic Identity: A Sacramental Guide to the Fullness of Life, and is co-author of Credo: An RCIA Program and Marian Consecration with Aquinas.
His writing also appears in Aleteia, Magnificat, and Ascension’s Catholic Classics series. In addition to the TI podcast, he regularly contributes to the podcasts Godsplaining and Pints with Aquinas, and Catholic Classics.
Keywords: Catholic Life, Conversation, Communion, Friendship, Human Nature, Humility, Listening, Prudence, Small Talk, Social Skills
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Tumistic Institute podcast. |
| 0:06.0 | Our mission is to promote the Catholic intellectual tradition in the university, the church, and the wider public square. |
| 0:12.0 | The lectures on this podcast are organized by university students at Tumistic Institute chapters around the world. |
| 0:19.0 | To learn more and to attend these events, visit us at |
| 0:21.6 | to mystic institute.org. So the subject of tonight's lecture is the art of conversation, broadly |
| 0:27.8 | conceived. I think the lecture has a cool title, which may or may not have induced you to attend. |
| 0:33.7 | Regardless, we're going to talk about the art of conversation, and I've arranged my comments under seven headings, |
| 0:40.3 | the most memorizable of numbers, seven. |
| 0:43.3 | And each of them are two words, because once I start with a trope, I kind of can't help myself, |
| 0:48.3 | and I seek to fulfill the destiny which I have set. |
| 0:51.3 | So the points are these. |
| 0:53.3 | If you're the type of individual who likes writing notes, now might be a time for said activity. |
| 0:58.0 | It matters. That's the first point. Don't worry. That's the second one. |
| 1:04.0 | Take time. Draw near. listen well. |
| 1:13.7 | It gets confusing here at number six because I couldn't come over with something shorter. |
| 1:15.6 | Illicit contributions. |
| 1:16.9 | Sorry. |
| 1:19.0 | And have fun. |
| 1:20.4 | All right. |
| 1:22.2 | So again, it matters. |
| 1:24.1 | Don't worry. |
| 1:26.1 | Take time. |
... |
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