>>It seems there are people who work as professional "facilitators":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facilitator>>
>>According to the article, it seems one high-level skill they should possess is the ability to "stack a conversation". Not knowing what that means, I Googled and Binged it. I couldn't find any references that said anything other than repeating that it's a skill they should have.
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>I've done that, for a while. I kept track of the return stack, so if the conversation diverts to a side topic, I'd remember to take it back to where we previously were. I'd usually say "return" when the subtopic was exhausted. In the end, I would be exhausted too, because it's kind of a mental pushup to keep the conversation history in your head while talking. So I gave up and learned to enjoy the meandering.
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>(OK, this was a SWAG)
I used to think that I was getting drunk, but your explanation made me realize that it was only cases of stack overflow. Thanks. Now how do I explain that to the police officer when he stops me in my car?