As one of the proponents of active listening... well, motivations vary. Personally, I think the purpose of listening is to learn. Being liked for it is a useful side effect, but not the end itself. Just about everyone I meet knows something interesting and potentially useful that I don't know.

I'm not sure I agree that the purpose of conversation is to create "worthy friendships", either. Often, it's just to pass the time, or be polite, or to discover if there's a common ground for future business. Conversation is what you do with other people, not just with friends.

So how do we strive for quality? What makes a "quality" conversation? Is it what we talk about, or who we talk with?