ABSTRACT
In this chapter I want to consider the importance of conversation to us as informal educators in our work with clients. I hope I can encourage you to think, and talk, about this seemingly quite ordinary and everyday human activity. Given the focus of this book, I shall be particularly exploring the importance of conversation in generating informal learning between participants. I have included a number of examples from discussions about different conversations which I have had with practitioners over the years. These are not exact transcriptions-most conversations lose their vitality in the face of a tape recorder. They are simply my recollections and observations-recalled here with permission. I shall be suggesting to you that conversation is of particular importance within informal and community education practices. For this reason, I hope that you will be able to add your own examples of conversations you have had which you continue to explore in your work as an educator.
