Reminiscence isn’t new. Before the printing press, storytellers and bards were how 
history was recorded-
Oral storytellers gave us the Odyssey and other valiant tales. History exists in their family, and Ulysses or Penelope might be sitting at your barbecue this coming Memorial Day- in the form of your aging parents.
But storytelling only works if the teller remembers the lines. Family history has to be captured when the older person still remembers. So holiday events are a perfect time to tap into that font before it flickers.
Here are some tips to use if they want to capture these family tales during Memorial Day weekend with aging parents—a perfect time to do this. Use empathetic listening if they can. Make all the messages you are are giving the older person— tone, how fast you speak, how they are sitting- say, “I want to listen to them.”
Ask questions that prompt the story but don’t make judgments. If there are going to record the family tale, do it in a way that doesn’t distract or stop the older person from talking.
Start somewhere. If the elder isn’t going to tell stories on his or her own, start the story and see if they will follow along.” Did you go to Memorial Day parades when you were a kid or march in one after the war ( pick his war).” Did your parents have barbecues to start the summer”
Music is just next to memory in the brain shown by Alive Inside So 50’s Rock and Roll, Little Richard , Bill Haley and if they are older the Four Freshman
Here are two technology tools to help you with this legacy building for your older client
Quick Voice Recorder to catch the memory on your phone
Check out my Book Handbook of Geriatric Care Management with more tools for legacy building written by David Lindeman Director Of the Center for Technology at UC Berkeley and Julie Menack of 21 st Care Solutions
Care Manager Nina Herndon, the national expert of elder quality of life, cites in her chapter on Quality of Life, in 
Make a playlist of their favorite 
Geriatric Care Manager, Nina Herndon’s Quality of Life activity kit book, to get more ideas 
When you are marketing to 3rd parties – for example -an elderlaw attorney – show -do not just tell. Hand the attorney a copy of a case study –involving a case you worked on with an elderlaw attorney. For example, a case where the family disagreed about the care for an elderly Mom and Dad. Then follow with the value you as an aging life or geriatric care manager brought to the case. Clever marketers use true stories to make their presentation more credible, personal and persuasive 
Beckwith says physicists knew that a” gravitationally completely collapsed object” had profound implications about astronomy. But who could understand what that meant. They invented a term for it- “Black Hole” and the world went wild, even making movies with Black Hole the title. Geriatric Care management and Aging Life care are mouthful’s so a very hard sell. So, reduce it to a metaphor that customers can easily understand- – “We are a GPS to find the right care for your loved one. “We are a dutiful daughter, taking care off your plate so you to be the real daughter. 
Fix it and fix it until it is “Flawless “Service – just the way the top 10% expect it to be -like that 5-star hotel they are accustomed to and will buy when you try to sell to them.
care but equally fix their life as a caregiver. So, find out how you can help them as a caregiver in the inquiry call and explain how you will make their life better as a caregiver to make the sale.
