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Participant sounds like one of many people in a group conversation. I want to know the equivalent of that word in a 1 on 1 conversation.

Keith Hall
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Joon
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    You could opt for "interlocutor" although it's a bit heavy. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interlocutor) – Ronald Sole Sep 28 '16 at 23:19
  • If its a philosophical discussion and they're holding a different view: disputant, opponent, sparring partner, etc. But in general, there's probably no common word for this. i.e. interlocutor is more likely to be found in some scholarly work than in every day conversation (unless its being used humorously). – developerwjk Sep 28 '16 at 23:38
  • How much are you monopolizing the conversation? Is that other guy the "listener"? – GEdgar Sep 28 '16 at 23:52
  • @developerwjk In that case why not "the person I was speaking to"? – WS2 Sep 29 '16 at 00:12

4 Answers4

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I agree with the comments of @RonaldSole and @WS2, each of which points to interlocutor as a solid answer to the OP's question.

From Merriam-Webster:

interlocutor: a person who is having a conversation with you

Richard Kayser
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Though it often has a more specific meaning for language learners participating in a language exchange, the term "conversation partner" can be used to refer to the other party in a one-on-one conversation.

Here's an example of it in use:

There are times when a conversation just doesn't seem to click. My conversation partner and I are not picking up on each other's cues. There's door after door that I do not wish to open. Well, I can certainly opt out and find a more palatable conversation partner. If social circumstances do not permit such an exit, I can always choose to converse about the present.

[Source: Infectious: How to Connect Deeply and Unleash the Energetic Leader Within by Achim Nowak]

pyobum
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The term counterpart is used when two parties are in an interaction like negotiation, collaboration, dispute, or conflict.

  • I am negotiating on behalf of my company with the union. She is my counterpart negotiating on behalf of the union.
  • I have been engaged intimately in a rather fruitful relationship for the last few weeks. I am trying my best to soften the shock that your estranged husband is my counterpart in this relationship. But don't worry, I was not his counterpart that had seduced him to ruin your marriage last year.
  • This will not be a free-for-all debate. Each one of you will debate only the assigned counterpart on the other team.
  • Every morning he gets up at 7 am, makes two cups of coffee to bring them to the park to meet his nemesis and counterpart in a game of chess.
  • She is schizo. She talks to herself. Correction, she talks to someone that exists only in her mind. Her counterpart in her conversations has the name Mary.

counterpart (ˈkaʊntəˌpɑːt)

n

  1. a person or thing identical to or closely resembling another
  2. one of two parts that complement or correspond to each other
  3. (Theatre) a person acting opposite another in a play
  4. (Law) a duplicate, esp of a legal document; copy

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Blessed Geek
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The OP is having a tête-à-tête with his interlocutor and vice-versa. I believe that that the French expression tête-à-tête would cover the two people involved in the OP's "1 on 1 conversation".

This is a French expression whose word-for-word literal translation is simply head-to-head. I consider its contemporary use in English to be archaic and pretentious but it still crops up in 19th & 20th century English literature and would have been used in conversation by the minority of English speakers who like to make use of foreign words in their English language discourse.

tête-à-tête: A private conversation between two persons. (M-W)
Origin & Etymology: French, literally, head-to-head. First known use [in English]: 1696. (M-W).

Peter Point
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