Please accept my thanks, dear readers, for your support throughout the year. You have regularly sent me suggestions, questions, and thanks for my newsletters, and you have buoyed me up each week. You have also made donations to defray some of my costs of publication. I am grateful, indeed.

If you want to support this newsletter and save money at the same time, please purchase a 2012 Entertainment Book and save a ton. It's easy to do. Go to www. Entertainment.com/support to review a book for your city in North America, then add my affiliate number 962976 as the group you support (which is Conversation Matters). (There are 149 editions of this book for North America, so it's likely you can find the right one for your area.)

"The Art of Conversation" event on Nov. 18 was exceptionally well-received. The program was light-hearted and fast-moving, and all participants took away fresh new skills to apply immediately in everyday life.

For readers who would like to host such an event in your area, let me know and I will send you a program outline. loren@conversationmatters.com

"Better Conversation Week" is happening now, Nov. 21-27. Its purpose is to encourage quality conversation as you gather with family and friends. (This is the 10th annual Better Conversation Week.)

"A good conversationalist is not one who remembers what was said, but says what someone wants to remember."

--John Mason Brown

"Thanksgiving, when the Indians said, "Well, this has been fun, but we know you have a long voyage back to England". -Jay Leno

"Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often."

-Johnny Carson

"For all that has been,

Thank you.

For all that is to come,

Yes!"

Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish diplomat (1905-1961)

"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

--Melody Beattie

I have noticed that when people relate real-life stories, their conversations have more depth and richness than when they merely make small talk or share opinions about external matters. Personal story example: "The happiest day of my childhood -- when I was 10 -- was finding a used bike in the classified section of our small town paper, then calling the number and learning it had not been sold but I could have it --she said it was a LaSalle with wide handlebars but in good shape--if I came right over with fifteen dollars because it belonged to her son who was in the Army and needed the money right away. Within an hour I was proudly learning to ride that bike, my trophy!" Reminiscences Are Richer When we share reminiscences, we share our own experiences instead of what we merely read or heard about. Much of everyday chat consists of people's opinions of the moment, hearsay, and maybe few facts. This does not make a rich mix. However, the memories we can retrieve are nearly always those that have had an emotional impact on us. These emotion-laden events are the ones our brains store in our long-term memory. I may not remember what I had for breakfast on most days in 1958, but I can remember a sausage and eggs breakfast on a particular 1958 Friday because I got food poisoning and had to cancel an audition I'd been preparing for weeks. Story-telling is an Ancient Art When we tell those stories, we can hardly avoid telling them with feeling. There is more of ourselves in the telling - feelings expressed through voice and facial expression and gesture, and our conversation becomes more involving and resonant. I find that there is more of ourselves in our talk even if we are not particularly gifted as story tellers. In a way, the story tells itself through us. Story-telling is the most ancient of arts. Our ancestors from the distant past shared tribal myths and their own life stories -- their reminiscences. Questions to Choose from and Print on 3 x 5 Cards How to use: After dinner, put cards in a stack for random drawing. (Or meet in a living room or family room.) Take turns, and let anyone draw a second card if they don't want the first one. (These cards are for adults, but kids are usually fascinated by these stories from the past.) If you had to write one note and leave it on your kitchen table for future generations to read, what would you say in that note? What was your first car? How old were you when you got it? What was your first job outside of any work at home? What was your neighborhood like when you were a kid? Who was your best friend when growing up? What made them best? Who was the best teacher you ever had? Why? What is your earliest memory as a little kid? Who were your neighbors when you were a kid? What were they like? What person - dead or alive - was your favorite hero when you were a kid? Try These Story-Starters and Add to Your Thanksgiving! 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.

"The happiest day of my childhood -- when I was 10 -- was finding a used bike in the classified section of our small town paper, then calling the number and learning it had not been sold but I could have it --she said it was a LaSalle with wide handlebars but in good shape--if I came right over with fifteen dollars because it belonged to her son who was in the Army and needed the money right away. Within an hour I was proudly learning to ride that bike, my trophy!" Reminiscences Are Richer When we share reminiscences, we share our own experiences instead of what we merely read or heard about. Much of everyday chat consists of people's opinions of the moment, hearsay, and maybe few facts. This does not make a rich mix. However, the memories we can retrieve are nearly always those that have had an emotional impact on us. These emotion-laden events are the ones our brains store in our long-term memory. I may not remember what I had for breakfast on most days in 1958, but I can remember a sausage and eggs breakfast on a particular 1958 Friday because I got food poisoning and had to cancel an audition I'd been preparing for weeks. Story-telling is an Ancient Art When we tell those stories, we can hardly avoid telling them with feeling. There is more of ourselves in the telling - feelings expressed through voice and facial expression and gesture, and our conversation becomes more involving and resonant. I find that there is more of ourselves in our talk even if we are not particularly gifted as story tellers. In a way, the story tells itself through us. Story-telling is the most ancient of arts. Our ancestors from the distant past shared tribal myths and their own life stories -- their reminiscences. Questions to Choose from and Print on 3 x 5 Cards How to use: After dinner, put cards in a stack for random drawing. (Or meet in a living room or family room.) Take turns, and let anyone draw a second card if they don't want the first one. (These cards are for adults, but kids are usually fascinated by these stories from the past.) If you had to write one note and leave it on your kitchen table for future generations to read, what would you say in that note? What was your first car? How old were you when you got it? What was your first job outside of any work at home? What was your neighborhood like when you were a kid? Who was your best friend when growing up? What made them best? Who was the best teacher you ever had? Why? What is your earliest memory as a little kid? Who were your neighbors when you were a kid? What were they like? What person - dead or alive - was your favorite hero when you were a kid? Try These Story-Starters and Add to Your Thanksgiving! 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.

"The happiest day of my childhood -- when I was 10 -- was finding a used bike in the classified section of our small town paper, then calling the number and learning it had not been sold but I could have it --she said it was a LaSalle with wide handlebars but in good shape--if I came right over with fifteen dollars because it belonged to her son who was in the Army and needed the money right away. Within an hour I was proudly learning to ride that bike, my trophy!"

Reminiscences Are Richer

When we share reminiscences, we share our own experiences instead of what we merely read or heard about. Much of everyday chat consists of people's opinions of the moment, hearsay, and maybe few facts. This does not make a rich mix. However, the memories we can retrieve are nearly always those that have had an emotional impact on us. These emotion-laden events are the ones our brains store in our long-term memory. I may not remember what I had for breakfast on most days in 1958, but I can remember a sausage and eggs breakfast on a particular 1958 Friday because I got food poisoning and had to cancel an audition I'd been preparing for weeks. Story-telling is an Ancient Art When we tell those stories, we can hardly avoid telling them with feeling. There is more of ourselves in the telling - feelings expressed through voice and facial expression and gesture, and our conversation becomes more involving and resonant. I find that there is more of ourselves in our talk even if we are not particularly gifted as story tellers. In a way, the story tells itself through us. Story-telling is the most ancient of arts. Our ancestors from the distant past shared tribal myths and their own life stories -- their reminiscences. Questions to Choose from and Print on 3 x 5 Cards How to use: After dinner, put cards in a stack for random drawing. (Or meet in a living room or family room.) Take turns, and let anyone draw a second card if they don't want the first one. (These cards are for adults, but kids are usually fascinated by these stories from the past.) If you had to write one note and leave it on your kitchen table for future generations to read, what would you say in that note? What was your first car? How old were you when you got it? What was your first job outside of any work at home? What was your neighborhood like when you were a kid? Who was your best friend when growing up? What made them best? Who was the best teacher you ever had? Why? What is your earliest memory as a little kid? Who were your neighbors when you were a kid? What were they like? What person - dead or alive - was your favorite hero when you were a kid? Try These Story-Starters and Add to Your Thanksgiving! 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.

When we share reminiscences, we share our own experiences instead of what we merely read or heard about. Much of everyday chat consists of people's opinions of the moment, hearsay, and maybe few facts. This does not make a rich mix.

However, the memories we can retrieve are nearly always those that have had an emotional impact on us. These emotion-laden events are the ones our brains store in our long-term memory. I may not remember what I had for breakfast on most days in 1958, but I can remember a sausage and eggs breakfast on a particular 1958 Friday because I got food poisoning and had to cancel an audition I'd been preparing for weeks.

Story-telling is an Ancient Art

When we tell those stories, we can hardly avoid telling them with feeling. There is more of ourselves in the telling - feelings expressed through voice and facial expression and gesture, and our conversation becomes more involving and resonant. I find that there is more of ourselves in our talk even if we are not particularly gifted as story tellers. In a way, the story tells itself through us. Story-telling is the most ancient of arts. Our ancestors from the distant past shared tribal myths and their own life stories -- their reminiscences. Questions to Choose from and Print on 3 x 5 Cards How to use: After dinner, put cards in a stack for random drawing. (Or meet in a living room or family room.) Take turns, and let anyone draw a second card if they don't want the first one. (These cards are for adults, but kids are usually fascinated by these stories from the past.) If you had to write one note and leave it on your kitchen table for future generations to read, what would you say in that note? What was your first car? How old were you when you got it? What was your first job outside of any work at home? What was your neighborhood like when you were a kid? Who was your best friend when growing up? What made them best? Who was the best teacher you ever had? Why? What is your earliest memory as a little kid? Who were your neighbors when you were a kid? What were they like? What person - dead or alive - was your favorite hero when you were a kid? Try These Story-Starters and Add to Your Thanksgiving! 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.

When we tell those stories, we can hardly avoid telling them with feeling. There is more of ourselves in the telling - feelings expressed through voice and facial expression and gesture, and our conversation becomes more involving and resonant. I find that there is more of ourselves in our talk even if we are not particularly gifted as story tellers. In a way, the story tells itself through us. Story-telling is the most ancient of arts. Our ancestors from the distant past shared tribal myths and their own life stories -- their reminiscences.

Questions to Choose from and Print on 3 x 5 Cards

How to use: After dinner, put cards in a stack for random drawing. (Or meet in a living room or family room.) Take turns, and let anyone draw a second card if they don't want the first one. (These cards are for adults, but kids are usually fascinated by these stories from the past.)

If you had to write one note and leave it on your kitchen table for future generations to read, what would you say in that note? What was your first car? How old were you when you got it? What was your first job outside of any work at home? What was your neighborhood like when you were a kid? Who was your best friend when growing up? What made them best? Who was the best teacher you ever had? Why? What is your earliest memory as a little kid? Who were your neighbors when you were a kid? What were they like? What person - dead or alive - was your favorite hero when you were a kid? Try These Story-Starters and Add to Your Thanksgiving! 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.

If you had to write one note and leave it on your kitchen table for future generations to read, what would you say in that note?

What was your first car? How old were you when you got it?

What was your first job outside of any work at home?

What was your neighborhood like when you were a kid?

Who was your best friend when growing up? What made them best?

Who was the best teacher you ever had? Why?

What is your earliest memory as a little kid? Who were your neighbors when you were a kid? What were they like? What person - dead or alive - was your favorite hero when you were a kid? Try These Story-Starters and Add to Your Thanksgiving! 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.

What is your earliest memory as a little kid?

Who were your neighbors when you were a kid? What were they like?

What person - dead or alive - was your favorite hero when you were a kid?

Try These Story-Starters and Add to Your Thanksgiving!

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.

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.