I'm a bit late on this, and thanks to Leadership Hub member Annalie Killian for drawing it to my attention:

"A study claims that between the ages of 20 and 40 people lose about one friend every year. Writer Theodore Zeldin, who has spent a lifetime studying friendships, wants to celebrate his 74th birthday with everyone - but only if you promise to have a proper conversation with a stranger."

Zeldin wants us all to have deeper and richer conversations:

"...the Zeldin Method is a rather exacting solution.

His menu of conversation usually takes around two hours to complete and took up to four when the strangers were French.

However, he claims 99% of the participants found it enlightening and enjoyable, and a reflection that while we may be talking all the time we avoid discussing things in any depth.

He is also not a fan of small talk and gossip. It is, he says, like apes grooming one another.

It helps bond us but it fails to help us understand one another."

More of the above article here: The Birthday of Strangers
And more on Zeldin's 'Muse Conversations' approach to deepening our communication here: Muse Conversations