I found Neal Wyatt's article entitled "The RA Conversation" helpful. I like how he described it as "a dialogue between two readers." As I talk with customers, I enjoy asking them about what they like to read, and I often find myself making notes or filing information away to share with other readers. As someone put it, we librarians cannot possibly read everything! Also, I will be the first to tell you that I am a slooooow reader...I like to savor the language (when applicable), think about how sentences are constructed, and reread turns of phrase that I find interesting. This is NOT a good way to get through books quickly (!!!), and while I'm trying to retrain myself, it's very challenging when books like Age of Miracles come along.
Since I don't read quickly, I do tend to read a lot of reviews to keep current, and if a customer requests an item about which I'm not very knowledgeable, I don't hesitate to use the PAC, Novelist, or Goodreads--or even Google--to search for something the customer might like. I thought the article's suggestion that a book talk be kept to 15 seconds or less was interesting, and I've been trying to do that over the past month+ since I read the article. (See also my next entry about the Nancy Pearl podcast.) I've found that kids really appreciate the short and sweet descriptions, but I've had several adults who then want to know more. No surprise, I guess adults have longer attention spans.
My final thought is back to the conversation--I think customers of all ages like it when someone asks them about their favorite books. It's a really effective conversation starter, whether you're a librarian helping customers or Jane or John Public hanging out at a cocktail party (or talking with kids while volunteering in your child's school library).
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