To Win a Smile: Working with the Elderly

When an older person smiles, the world is a better place. Eric shares his experiences, funny and sad, from a lifetime of friendships with the older generation in a rural Minnesota farm town. Since he was four years old, Eric has lived around elderly people. He has spent his life learning to make them smile. He shares his secrets, some simple, some savvy, in a talk designed to help people better understand, appreciate and serve the elderly.

This talk is appropriate for Health Care workers, Social Workers, volunteers and anybody who works with elderly clients. It can be customized to emphasize customer service for elderly clients.

Advocacy: Telling the Story

We can get lost in statistics and acronyms when advocating for greater funding for proper care for our elderly friends. The important thing, however, is to never forget the story, and not just sad stories of those affected by funding cuts. We need to also tell the stories of triumphant aging. Eric tells of his 100-year-old great Aunt Olive, who has reached the century mark with a delusionally positive attitude. Her example, Eric argues, provides a lesson for all of us. A writer who has published five books, Eric Bergeson knows how to tell a story. He gives tips on how to tell compelling stories of victorious aging, not just to policy-makers but to the public at large.