chapterOne Politics and Democracy as Conversation; chapterTwo Characteristics of a Good Conversation; chapterThree Conversational Strategies; chapterFour The Value of Conversation in a Democracy; chapterFive The Informational Requirements of a Good Conversation; chapterSix The Social Setting of Contemporary Conversation; chapterSeven The Language of Political Conversation; chapterEight The New Technology of Conversation; chapterNine Institutionalized Conversation; chapterTen Beyond Talking;

Democratic politics involves a series of multi-directional conversations. Effective conversations have the potential to engage, educate, and animate both citizens and governmental officials. On the individual level, discovering successful conversational strategies benefits both political and social interaction. This book offers guidelines for conducting effective conversations personally, politically, and beyond such that readers of this book are unlikely to ever again look at conversation in the same way. New technologies and social trends both challenge and potentially enhance traditional face-to-face and media dominated conversations. Understanding the state, quality and potential of political conversations provides a unique perspective for evaluating and potentially improving government "by the people."