Talking in the Here and Now
The people we met throughout our work said whilst remembering the past was important, it was also valuable to focus on being in the present. This can mean talking about something that interests you both, or having a shared focus (i.e, gardening, painting, looking at pictures or photos together). This video focuses on everyday small talk and conversations in the ‘here and now’. Watch the video and reflect on how what issues can crop up in everyday routine conversations, who is ‘driving the conversation’ and what impact this has, and what effect having a shared focus can have on conversations. On this video, you will see separate sections where you can:
a) Listen to the views of people with dementia themselves
b) See re-enactments of scenes from everyday conversations that we saw in practice
c) Use these scenes to reflect on how we do something as ordinary, but valuable, as everyday talk small talk
d) See how the Forget Me Not research group and their own ideas for making conversations fun and informal