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，我与伦敦金融城某著名企业的首席执行官共进午餐。他告诉我，每次赴宴，他都会与邻座客人攀谈，并就他们在用餐期间的交谈质量主动提供反馈。他可能会跟人家这样说：虽然听他们阐述对齐尔考特调查事件的看法很愉快，但他们本可以进行更多的眼神接触，并提出一些问题；或者，虽然他有兴趣听他们说给自己的孩子选择什么学校，但他们本可以讲得再简短一些，或者不要那么炫耀。