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What a great Labor Day weekend! How did you spend your time off? Did you do something fun? (That’s a good conversation starter, by the way, because it invites the sharing of personal information.) For the third year in a row, I volunteered at the Hawaii Writers Conference, (the weekend formerly known as the Maui Writers Conference). |
Ahhh! 4 days of bliss for everyone who loves writing, books and movies. That would be me and 700 of my dearest writer friends. (more…)
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I spent the weekend camping with old friends. When we weren’t surfing, playing cards and Mexican train, cooking, or discussing the merits of feeding the wild chickens, we circled round the campfire or coffee cups and talked story. |
Here are some good conversation questions we chewed on: (more…)
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There are three kinds of conversations:
This is a true story about a close encounter of the third kind. It’s one thing to talk to the universe, and another to get a reply. |
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In the movie Patch Adams, Robin Williams plays a larger-than-life doctor who combines medicine with caring, silliness, and giggles. I never met Patch, but I know someone who has — Greg Tamblyn — and he wrote about it in his delightful book Atilla the Gate Agent: Travel Tales & Life Lessons from a Musical Laf-ologist. |
America’s #1 conversation question is "What do you do?"
If you’re answering in the usual way—"I’m a manager [salesperson, writer, realtor or what-have-you]"—guess what? You’re missing the chance to begin a meaningful conversation. (If you’ve wondered how to start a conversation with someone new, listen up!)
Definition of an elevator speech
An overview of, or pitch for, an idea for a product, service or project. Make it short, pithy, and intriguing.
Here’s professional speaker and writer (and my friend) Sam Horn with a hot tip: Use an elevator speech to answer the question "What do you do?"
Pop quiz!
What do you do first when someone asks "What do you do?"
answer: xxyouxgetxFIxxx
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Sam Horn is a master presenter, isn’t she?
Now that you’ve understood Sam’s message, I want you to watch this video again. Pay attention to her delivery. Notice how she’s having a conversation with you. Notice her
Practice one of these skills until you’ve got it. Then add the next one, and the next…. The key word is PRACTICE. Oh, and enjoy it while you’re at it.
| I highly, highly recommend Sam’s latest book, which has more tips for effective elevator speeches. (Click on the book.) |
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POP! Create the Perfect Pitch, Title and Tagline for Anything (Perigee – Penguin, ‘09) In paperback. |
Book lovers & aspiring writers!
Come hear Sam Horn in person. Every Labor Day weekend she emcees the Hawaii Writers Conference (formerly the Maui Writers Conference).
Manicuring my toenails, I wondered what my Punahou School classmates were doing to get ready for our 45th reunion weekend. (45th? How could that be? I feel 36.)
Oh, there’s a good conversation starter: What did you do to get ready for this reunion? Lose weight? Color your hair? Buy new clothes? (I never did use this ice breaker, but you can.)
I don’t color anything but my toes (a rainbow of ‘em). My hair has gone from totally unacceptable in high school, curly and unruly, to terrific. (Oops, sorry. My humility took a tea break.) And I lost 20 pounds in college. So I felt good to go.
Good conversation at the Outrigger Canoe Club (more…)
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My friend Christian needed transportation to the podiatrist. After wheeling her into the examining room, I sat on the corner chair. The doctor promptly entered the room. (Nice!) He was attentive to Christian, but he never introduced himself to me. Yes, Christian could have introduced us since she knows us both. She was distracted when the doctor grabbed her foot and started talking. |
Here’s my question: if you were in the doctor’s position and didn’t know the extra person, wouldn’t you say, "Hi, I’m Dr. York?"
I hope so.
On our way out of the office, the receptionist asked me if Christian had received arch supports. I felt like Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver: "Are you talkin’ to ME?"
When did Christian become invisible? When was I elected the person in charge? Although Christian’s a senior, she’s sharp as a tack. She’s the patient, the client, the one who got the arch supports; I was merely wheeler-in-chief.
If this conversation etiquette story applies to how you talk to customers, clients and their caregivers, I won’t preach because you’re smart and can connect your own dot dot dots….
Lots of my grandmother friends run conversational circles and jog literal circles around me, so let me make it clear: this blog post is about starting a conversation with an elderly person—granddad, too—who is hard to talk to.
Grandma sits in her chair, silent, but happy to have you there.
You ask her, "How was your day?"
She's says, "Okay."
"What did you have for lunch?"
[pause] "I can't remember."
But just because she gives one-word answers to your questions doesn't mean she's not willing to talk. What's going on? (more…)
Here’s a conversation topic in keeping with Mother’s Day:
Can teen mother Bristol Palin (whose mom is governor of Alaska), teach abstinence?
The folks who brought you National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day thought so because they made Bristol their poster child, er, poster mom. She said, "Regardless of what I did personally, I just think that abstinence is the only way you can effectively, 100 percent foolproof way, you can prevent pregnancy."
My mom had another foolproof way. (more…)