You’re right: most people quietly live very interesting lives, or at least have some damn good stories to tell. I do, and will continue to until I call it a day and shuffle off this mortal coil.

Each good story profits from having a good listener to appreciate it. And that, I think, is both an art and an acquired skill. I am thinking of one friend in particular who is able to connect with virtually everyone in an understated, friendly way, and draw their fascinating stories out of them. He is also an excellent raconteur himself: the two skills seem to go hand in hand.

But it can also be learned, I think, by sheer dint of being actively interested in other people and in the world.

Mick