Christmas gift query is the ultimate way to get people sparkling

I DISCOVERED a little known fact last week, when I set out to ask a simple question of everybody I met: “What was the standout Christmas present for you — the one gift that comes into your mind whenever anyone mentions Christmas?”

The little-known fact is that this may be the ultimate key to getting people talking. Whether they’re computer technicians speeding up a network, clients sorting problems before the holidays, friends encountered for present-swapping purposes, or nearest and dearest interrupted as they go through the sports pages, that question gets them all misty-eyed, nostalgic, and talkative.

They don’t necessarily get truthfully talkative. I found that when I asked friends or family to name the best yuletide gift they’d ever received, they tended at first to go squirrelly on me. Eyes sliding furtively and guilty dithers breaking out.