I'm taking a break from writing weekly until early November because I am re-relocating to Las Vegas, NV in a few weeks. Thank you for your patience. Please understand that I must use my limited energies to get packed up, paid up, and ready for the move.

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

--Mark Twain

phatic: of, relating to, or being speech used for social or emotive purposes rather than for communicating information

FATT-ik

"Most of what is called "networking" at social events is phatic: That is, for sharing feelings and greetings rather than substantive information."

Much of what we call "small talk" is phatic - empty of information. But that's OK, because when engaging in small talk we are mainly building relationships.

The "Moving Stupids" Meaning: The disorientation that comes from being in an unfamiliar place. A lot of "new stuff" to adjust to sometimes causes a sense of physical lethargy and mental confusion.

Coined by Joan Sotkin, author of "Build Your Money Muscles" (2006). Joan publishes an excellent complimentary newsletter, "Prosperity Quick Tips" available free at http://Prosperity Place.com

raconteur (from French): A teller of tales, story-teller. One adept at creating stories.

RAH-con-TUR

"Albert, a gifted raconteur, held the group spellbound as he told of his escape from the jungle."

sotto voce (from Italian) spoken in a low voice (sotto = under; voce = voice)

SAH-tow VO-chay.

Marianne turned to Judy and said sotto voce, "Let's leave this place."

Funny sentence structure: paraprosdokian

A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part.

It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax . (Think vaudeville one-liners)

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." - Henry J. Tillman

"I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat." --Will Rogers

"She got her good looks from her father; he's a plastic surgeon." -Groucho Marx

"The food is terrible, but the service is awful." --Loren Ekroth

Anonymous examples:

"Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car."

"Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak."

"If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong."

(Thanks for subscriber Ron Russman for this feature.)

This is an example of "hyper-correction" in speaking by choosing the subjective case (I) instead of the objective (me). Who often use this fancy form? TV sports reporters and analysts, and they may have missed English class.

Just between you and me, I prefer the less pretentious form.

Personal Village: How to Have People in Your Life by Choice, not Chance, by Marvin Thomas, MSW (2004)

Here are practical ideas to create your own "personal village" of better friends instead of settling for those who just happen to be in your workplace or neighborhood.

One reviewer wrote, "A must read for everyone who wants a fuller, more joyous life."

This book covers the social landscape for building friendships and finding or creating fellowships and conversation groups.

This process will be easier in large, diverse cities than in small, homogeneous towns. The diverse cities are like cafeteria buffets to choose from, the small towns are more like the "daily special" -- same for everyone.

1. Fall Break

2. Conversation Quotation

3. Words to Describe Talking

4. Foreign Words about Talk

5. Coined Words: Neologisms

6. Funny Sentence Structure

7. The Friendly Grammarian

Loren Ekroth ©2010, all rights reserved

Loren Ekroth, Ph.D. is a specialist in human communication and a national expert on conversation for business and social life.