Better Conversations Newsletter
"Raising the Standard of Conversation in Life"
Dr. Loren EkrothLoren Ekroth, Ph.D.
 
aka "Dr.Conversation" 
Conversation for the Fun of It
Loren Ekroth photo
This Week's Contents
Conversation Quotation
Jest Words
Word-a-Week
Resourceville
Words of Inspiration
Conversation for the Fun of It
Authorship Information
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This Week's Issue:
May 24, 2012

Hello again, subscriber friend!

 

Today:  Conversation for the Fun of It

If you like it, please forward it to friends.

Loren Ekroth, publisher 

[email protected]

This Week's Contents

Words this issue: 1,078  Reading Time: 3.5 minutes 

 

  1. Conversation Quotation
  2. Jest Words
  3. Pronounce-a-thon
  4. Resourceville
  5. Words of Inspiration
  6. Word-a-Week
  7. Conversation for the Fun of It
  8. Pronounce-a-thon answer
1. Conversation Quotation

"Argument is the worst sort of conversation."

 

-Jonathan Swift, 1667 - 1745

2.  Jest Words

 

Insurance, n. An ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table.


--Ambrose Bierce, 1881-1906 

The Devil's Dictionary

3.   Word-a-Week:  proficient (adj)

Pronunciation: pruh-FISH-unt

 

Meaning: well advanced in an art, occupation, or branch of knowledge

 

Etymology: From Latin proficere  ("to go forward, advance, make progress, succeed, be profitable or useful"), from pro ("forth, forward") +facere ("to make, do")

 

With respect to skill levels, here are 3 words in ascending order: competent (capable), then proficient (better than competent), then masterful (better than proficient, the highest level.)

 

Example: "When he attended a piano camp, Yardley finally became proficient at playing the Chopin etudes."

4.  Resourceville:  Alone Together

All readers who viewed this TED talk a few weeks ago raved about it, so I am offering it again. You can read Prof. Turkle's "Alone Together" book in 6 hours, or you can harvest her main insights in 20 minutes from this lively video. How technology impacts our personal relationships. Highly recommended.

 

Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: http://tinyurl.com/cdlq338

5.  Words of Inspiration

"Should is an ordinary, everyday word -- except when it is used to indicate an order that may not be refused. Then should becomes a finger waving under the nose. Should users build prison cells for themselves. They are so focused on what they should do -- that they cannot think about what they can do, what they might do in the future."

 

-- Dr. Arthur Freeman and Rose Dewolf

 
6.  Conversation for the Fun of It

Public speaking and conversation share 3 main goals: to inform people about things they do not know, to persuade people to believe something or to do something, or to entertain people and make them feel good about themselves. 

 

I have encountered a few participants in my seminars who consider conversation for entertainment to be a waste of time. These are "serious folks." They want only to talk about big ideas and how to solve problems. They like the back and forth of disputation, and they dislike social small talk (and are not good at it, which may be the reason.) They avoid talking about trivia and feel superior to people who spend time just "gabbing."

 

My view? Fun has a place in life, and an important one. As humorist and speech writer Robert Orben wrote, "If you can get someone to laugh with you, they will be more willing to identify with you, listen to you. It parts the waters."

 

So today's article is "Conversation for Entertainment"

 

Here are some of its common forms:

 

Scintillating small talk

 

When engaging in this pastime, joking with others can give a "kick" to otherwise mundane talk. Also, using observational humor by commenting on oddities in the situation ("Oh, boy! Noodles again!")

 

"Banter" means the funny back and forth of small talk, and this may include one-liners like this one by Groucho Marx: "I intend to live forever, or die trying."

 

Talking about mutual interests

 

When I was growing up in northern Wisconsin, men talked for hours with great pleasure about fishing and hunting. The new trout flies they tied, the hidden lake with the big bass, the best areas for deer hunting in the fall. Also, they compared which cars were better, and which sports teams would win. All of this talk was entertaining.

 

Women enjoyed talking about fashions, shopping, and certain household matters like the new drapes they added. Even the gossip ("Would Sally leave Harry?) was entertaining, and the radio soap operas were endlessly fascinating. Although they rarely told jokes (that was a "guy thing,") they laughed a lot when talking, a clear sign they were being entertained and having fun.

 

Word play

 

Even little kids love playing with language, as any 6-year-old can demonstrate with silly knock-knock jokes like this one.

 

"Knock Knock
Who's there?
Abe!
Abe who?
Abe C D E F G H...!"

 

When a little older, kids entertain one another with puns. "Did you hear about the man who lost his left side? He's all right now." As kids do this, they are developing an "ear" for their language.

 

Adults may get fancier with made-up or borrowed word play like this rhyme, a play on Shakespeare, said by Richard Needham:

 

   "The seven ages of man:
    spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills."  

       

A phrase I created after moving to Las Vegas: When talking to strangers on the phone and they ask where I'm calling from, I sometimes say "I live on the rim of sin," which dependably evokes a chuckle.

 

Purely for entertainment, folks may toss in aphorisms like these:

 

"Anybody who thinks talk is cheap should get some legal advice." -Franklin P. Jones

and my favorite, "A fellow who picks a cat up by the tail gets a hundred times as much information as one who's never done it." --Mark Twain

 

 

Kidding Others for Entertainment

 

At class and family reunions, I've heard stories that begin with "Remember the time you . . .?" and then go on to recount someone's foolishness. (Yesterday I witnessed 2 supermarket managers tease a young employee about his hairstyle, and all 3 had a good time with the teasing.) Sometimes it's an honor to be teased - as when a celebrity is "roasted" at a banquet.

 

"Can You Top This?" (Joke Contests)

 

Who can get the highest score on the "laugh meter"? Back and forth we go, trying to out-do one another with canned humor - jokes we've memorized and rehearsed. These are low-level stand-up comedy, typically executed by males to entertain dinner guests or their buddies at the bar. Who can out-do whom? (Full disclosure: As a college student, I spent many delightful hours with friends as we each told elaborate jokes.)

 

"Edutainment" and "Educainment"

 

These are common terms in the training professions. They denote training that combines fun and humor with serious information. The evidence shows that students learn more when their classes are entertaining.

 

However, there are times when someone trying to be funny is a distraction. For example, during talk that is appropriately solemn, urgent, or serious. The person who is always "joking around" becomes a nuisance for damaging the tone of the conversation. Just as there are times for pure entertainment, there are many times for "let's get serious." 

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Note: Just above the header "Better Conversations Newsletter" at the top of this issue, you'll see a Facebook icon.  Clicking on that will take you to your Facebook page. The link to this issue will also appear.  You can add a comment and post it so your friends can access this newsletter.  

 

Until next week,

 

Loren

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Authorship Information

Loren Ekroth �2012, all rights reserved

 

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

 

Contact at [email protected]