Ed. Note: This is another in the series of Share the Podium for the month of March. Today’s post is from Conrad Hake, an old friend of mine, who just got started with his own blog Levintel in January, 2009.

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How To Write a Conversational Blog and Why

by Conrad Hake

It’s not a generational thing. I use a cup of coffee as the icon to represent my blog specifically because of its tradition as conversational catalyst. As you can see above, younger people at the modern Café Babel in Seattle participate. Older participants at Manistee Bakery & Deli in Manistee, Michigan enjoy it. Starbucks practically recreates living rooms with couches and coffee tables at many outlets. Coffee shops go back further than I do – and I go back further than I ever have before!
So, what’s the attraction? Is it the coffee? Well, in part, but I’ve tasted some pretty rasty coffee at some of the old greasy spoon coffee shops where I’ve spent time with friends – yet we returned. Is it the ambience? Closer. Is it the friendship? Now we’re getting hot! Wait, I’m getting it…it’s the conversation between friends. Sometimes, it’s not coffee at all. Sometimes, it’s beer. Sometimes, it’s tea and sushi. But, it’s always conversation! And, it’s always friends. The long running TV comedy Cheers was fully based on it without ever depleting the topic pool. Seinfeld milked it forever and the meeting place was either Jerry’s apartment or the coffee shop. Friends went to Central Perk.
So, we’ve got two elements essential so far. You need friends and you need a conversation. But, bigger than the elephant in the room is the room itself. You need that traditional meeting place. That’s where the Conversational Blog comes in, a place where people keep returning to converse on different topics, to reminisce about their days and developments of their lives. To reflect. To encourage one another. And, what’s the beverage of choice that everyone sips from? The Blog Post itself. It is the daily special offered by the proprietor. Yet, though every blog has offerings and though many of them are extremely interesting, some of them yield very little conversation. Even some blogs with a huge amount of traffic! Why?
I have some ideas and part of the weight behind them is because there is so much conversation on my blog. I offer fewer ideas about generating traffic, because my traffic counts aren’t very high – though the people that do visit tend to read multiple entries. Also, I have to offer the true humility of a guy who’s only been blogging for two months. But, I get conversation and I think these may be some of the fundamental reasons behind that:
• Daily offerings are a surprise. I don’t know what I’m going to write about any more than the readers.
• I try to always enjoy the writing and have fun. Fun doesn’t preclude serious reflection and thought. Fun doesn’t preclude research. But, fun translates to a light touch, to brightness and to passion!
• I always include a piece of myself in the writing. Note this requirement, because I’ll return to the importance of this shortly.
• After publishing the post, I genuinely look forward to the responses. Some writers don’t invite response and are HUGELY successful, like The Magnificent Bastard and Seth Godin. They are brilliant and I love to read their blogs. I think about their blogs. But…we aren’t conversing. They have so much traffic, I don’t think they could and they don’t even allow comments. They are more like great leaders speaking to the masses and I have huge respect for what they do. It just isn’t what I do.
• When the responses start, I don’t stand behind the counter. I go to the table and sit down with the guests. I drink with them and listen to their stories. And, this is probably the most important part: I respond to each and every comment individually. My responses aren’t sound-bite knockoffs, they are often multiple paragraphs. I respond like I would were we face-to-face over a cup of coffee.


The key to understanding what to respond to is to realize what I learned working with mentally ill children, that every statement a person makes is autobiographical. What they say about my post is only peripherally related to my post. It is a statement of themselves, of their hearts, of their yearnings. So, I do them the justice of listening, absorbing and responding to their individual offering of themselves with myself.
My blog leaves me vulnerable. And, because of that, it leaves me surrounded by friends. I’ll always toast that!
What’s your take? I’m listening…