Conversational Maxims

Would you like to have an effective conversation? Don't you know how to have a cooperative interaction with people? Well, these are the general principles proposed by Paul Grice, a British philosopher; he calls them the Maxims of Conversation:

• Maxim of Quantity: Information
• Make your contribution as informative as is required for the current purposes of the exchange.
• Don't make your contribution more informative than is required.
• Maxim of Quality: Truth
• Don't say what you don't believe.
• Don't say what you lack adequate evidence for.
• Maxim of Relation: Relevance
• Be relevant.
• Maxim of Manner: Clarity
• Be brief.
• Be orderly.
• Avoid obscurity.
• Avoid ambiguity.