"Never underestimate, never ever, ever, underestimate what you might be able to share in two minutes that can change lives forever."

--Rev. Robin Webber in a 2003 sermon that used Lincoln's Gettysburg address as an example.

"They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad to realize that I'm going to miss mine by just a few days."

- Garrison Keillor

Meaning: accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight.

Say the word aloud, then check your pronunciation at the end of article.

Meaning: To subject to thorough examination or evaluation, as to vet a manuscript or a company.

Example sentence: "Because the candidate was not thoroughly vetted, embarrassing flaws were discovered during the course of the campaign."

The percentage of internships for college graduates increased from 17% in 1992 to 50% in 2008. The great majority of these internships are unpaid, and many don't provide deep learning. As the subtitle of Ross Perlin's new book, Intern Nation," says: "How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy. (I recommend it if you have a friend or relative who is contemplating an internship.)

My own son accepted an unpaid internship with a prestigious advertising company in San Francisco for the summer before his college senior year. He quickly learned that they didn't have an organized program, and he was mainly expected to be a "go-fer," running errands and moving supplies. His university didn't have information on the company, and he accepted a verbal offer based on trust. Perhaps his biggest learning was not to trust glowing, vague promises.

Many of you subscribers have children in college or friends who are unemployed and want to "get their foot in the door" of some company with an internship. Caveat emptor! Before they accept, have them read this revealing book.

The term SPAM that identifies unsolicited bulk email derives from

a. A Monty Python TV sketch from 1970

b. The canned meat product made by Hormel

c. Acronym: Special Promotional Anonymous Messages

d. None of the above

(Check your answer at the end of today's article.)

"Our deepest need is for the joy that comes with loving and being loved, with knowing we are of genuine use to others."

--Eknath Easwaran

One short conversation can change your life.

During the fall of my junior year at the University of Minnesota, I was called in for a consultation with a counselor because my midterm grades were very poor. Having transferred from a small state college where I was a star to a huge university where I felt like a nobody, I'd concocted a victim story. "If it weren't for those impersonal and hard-hearted professors, I'd be doing just fine," I told myself and friends. I also told this story to the counselor, and indicated that "I'll show them! I'll drop out. I'll leave."

The novice counselor didn't argue with me or try to change my mind. He listened carefully, repeated the gist of what I said, and told me, "Well, if you think you should drop out, you can do that."

When I heard my own victim story coming back from him, I saw how self-serving it was, and how lame an excuse for my poor performance. He had neither opposed me nor had he agreed with me. He merely accepted what he'd heard me say.

After about 20 minutes our conference was over, and I departed with a different perspective. I got that idea that "if it was to be, it was up to me." That was my choice. So I buckled down with some study discipline, salvaged the term with adequate grades, and continued on toward a bachelor's degree. I followed that with a master's degree. Eventually, after military service, I completed a Ph. D. degree and spent a satisfying career as a university professor of communication studies.

I'm clear that had it not been for that brief conversation, I'd have probably quit - or been suspended. Instead, I changed my mind, and that changed my life.

I can list another 5 or 6 conversations that changed my life, and I think that many of you readers have also experienced life-changing conversations. Maybe with a friend or relative, a co-worker, a priest or rabbi, perhaps a psychologist. Even a random conversation on a plane. If you have, please share one with me. From those I receive I'll select a few stories to publish in a future issue, with or without attribution to you, your choice. About 200- 300 words in length would be best.

Until next week,

Loren

P. S. If you like this issue, please share it with a friend. You can do this by using the "Forward this email to a friend" link.

Acumen: You win! Both are now correct: uh-KYOO-men and AK-yuh-men

The pronunciation uh-KYOO-men with stress on the second syllable is an older, traditional pronunciation reflecting the word's Latin origin. In recent years it has been supplanted as the most common pronunciation of the word by an Anglicized variant with stress on the first syllable, AK-yuh-men. Suggestion: If everyone in your area prefers one of these, go along to get along. Follow local customs.

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La Triviata: SPAM

The term SPAM that identifies unsolicited bulk email derives from a Monty Python sketch from 1970 in which every dish in the greasy spoon restaurant was served with SPAM, the canned meat.

This answer is "more correct" than the product name itself because you were served SPAM whether you wanted it or not in that sketch, and it was so funny and so wildly popular that some tech person in the early days of email put it to use.

Loren Ekroth ©2011, all rights reserved

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