But what will we say to them?

 

Seriously ... if we do meet intelligent aliens, what will be the basis of any conversation?  Will we have anything in common enough to exchange information? 

How top scientists think we'll finally hear from aliens - and why it could happen in the next decade

"Seth Shostak, 80, has been the senior astronomer at the SETI project (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) for almost a quarter of a century and is betting it all that on the human race will hear from intelligent aliens by 2036.
The gamble is based on the steady improvements in telescope technology and computing hardware.

In a recent Reddit AMA, Shostak said: 'The trend of improving hardware - mostly computers -- has proceeded unabated. I'm still betting on a signal by 2036.'

The astronomer has also argued that recent research has determined there could be billions of Earth-like worlds in the universe, suggesting it's highly unlikely that Earth is the only one with life."

OK, I'm not sure what we'll have to talk about.  But I do know one way we could try to start the conversation.