I think there is a widely unused tactic for breaking an either boring or disgruntled conversation that needs to be looked at again by a good majority of the human race. The tactic could be used to simply see if someone is paying attention. Take this instance for example.
person: So, do you gather information to prepare a lawsuit?
lawyer: no not really
person: do you gather information to defend someone?
lawyer: no I don't realy do that either.
person: well, what is it that you do do?
Did you catch it? No it is not the fact that one individual is called a "person" and the other is a "lawyer" as if the lawyer was not a person. The person, with skill, slipped in a "crap joke" in the conversation. I had a similar conversation last night with a lawyer and completely missed the opportunity.
poop.