Mean what you mean.

While walking the three blocks to the bus stop this morning, I was thinking about what motivates people to say the things that they say. How often do I drop a line because I mean it, or to provoke the listener so I can hear what I most what to hear? Recently, I've been able to pinpoint situations like the latter, although I hope (don't really believe) that I carry out conversations only in this manner. I don't think this means I never say what I truly feel, but it does indicate a certain level of doubt I might have about the person to whom I'm speaking. So I wonder, do I clam up, lie in wait, and hope for a flowing, meaningful conversation to just...flow? Or do I stretch the truth a little bit (whatever it might be) to get the kind of dialogue I want?