In writing (as in life?) the most interesting things are usually what lie just beneath the surface. It's the stuff you glimpse, that you have to work for in order to reach. Anything that's handed to you on a plate can feel as if it's not worth having. This is never more true than in dialogue, which provides delicious opportunities for being elliptical or evasive.
In the real world, when we talk to one another, a large part of our communication remains unspoken and the small amount that is actually said can often be an innocent-looking cover for deeper stuff: to glean meaningful information, to insult or attack, to seduce. In other words speech is a great means of touching on things we can't deal with directly.
To this end, when you are writing dialogue it is often a good idea to be as spare as possible. Use the minimum number of word that you feel comfortable with, and when you have written them, see if you can cut them by a quarter (you can always put them back later). The trick is to leave plenty of gaps for the reader's imagination to inhabit. It will make your work more challenging and your characters more recognisable and sympathetic.
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