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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Sam.

And I'm Neil. Recently, I met up with an old-school friend. I hadn't seen for years.

We talked for hours. All right, sounds like you had a good chinwag. A long and pleasant

conversation between friends, which is great because in this programme, we're talking about

talking. We'll be discussing conversations, the exchange of ideas, thoughts and feelings

that happens when people talk to each other. And as usual, we'll be learning some new vocabulary

as well. With the rise of Twitter and social media, which encourages us to give our opinion on

a subject without always listening in return, some think the art of conversation is being lost.

But luckily, there are still millions of us who love to talk. Chat, chinwag and chatter away.

In fact, in 2012, a competition in Latvia broke the world record for the longest telephone

conversation. So, Neil, my question is this. How long did this record-breaking conversation last?

Was it A, 24 hours and 4 minutes? B, 54 hours and 4 minutes? Or C, 84 hours and 4 minutes?

I'll guess A, 24 hours and 4 minutes, after which they probably fell asleep.

Okay, Neil. I'll reveal the correct answer later in the programme.

During a long career, DJ and BBC Radio presenter, Nehal Atherneiker, has had conversations with

hundreds of people. Now, he's used these experiences to write a book entitled Let's Talk,

How to Have Better Conversations. Here, Nehal tells another radio presenter, Michael Rosen,

of BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth, about the influence of his mother, who also love talking to people

in her job as a nurse. Well, it gave me the sense that you are enriched by listening. And this

was, of course, pre-social media, which is, of course, encouraged us to project, to transmit,

more than receive. So, it meant that I guess I was conscious of the experiences of others,

...