Last night I had a long conversation with my preteen nephew. Almost the whole time we were flinging a stuffed octopus like a frisbee back and forth. It reminded me of countless conversations I've had with my brothers and friends while tossing pillows or occasionally actual frisbees back and forth. It seems to me that there is something about doing things with your hands while you talk that can help conversations be more comfortable.
Even driver/passenger conversations on road trips or talking while doing a puzzle seem like the same thing. Maybe it is simply because you don't feel like you have to be talking the whole time, because you are interacting the whole time in a more distant way, but still interacting. So if you can't think of anything to say, it's not a big deal, you can be silent, or even comment on the way the octopus flipped, or the puzzle piece you are looking for.
However, some types of kinetic conversations seem like they don't work. For instance, when you are shopping (there are too many decisions that need to be made).
As I write this it also makes me wonder if it is a gender thing. If boys are more likely to enjoy kinetic conversation, because most of the example from my own life seem to be with boys. But then again maybe it is more about who I have conversations with. . .
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